The Fine Line Between Love And Hatred
by Hunting Horcruxes
Summary: Lily hates the arrogant, handsome, quidditch captain James potter. James loves the beautiful, red headed, know-it-all Lily Evans. This story follows their life while at Hogwarts and how they finally found love.
1. Hogwarts Express: Part 1

AN- Hello readers! (if I have any) This is my first ever fan fiction so i would really appreciate all the criticism i can get and also ways to improve my writing. A special thank you to "HPislife16" for offering their help to me. (I don't own Harry Potter)

Lily Evans couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. She was finally on her way to King Cross Station from where she would board the Hogwarts Express.

As soon as their car halted in front of the station, Lily hopped out and ran to get a trolley for her school trunk. When she returned to her car, her father had already unloaded her school trunk from the boot and onto the pavement. Lily was so excited that she didn't even notice the disgusted looks her older sister, Petunia was giving her. She scanned the platform for her only friend from the wizarding world.

"Lily!" said a familiar voice behind her. She turned around her and saw Severus Snape pushing a trolley while walking towards her accompanied by a woman who had the same sallow face and pale skin he did.

Lily was unable to contain her joy. Severus just smiled at her.

Her family had joined her by now; her father was pushing her trolley and her mother was walking while Petunia clinged onto her arm.

"Where's your ticket, dear?" her mother asked. "Don't want to be late, do we?" Lily pulled out her ticket, after looking at it she looked up bewildered, "Platform nine and three quarters? But there's no such thing."

"Watch," was all Sev said before breaking into a run while pushing his trolley, heading towards barriers nine and ten. Lily gasped, expecting him to crash but he passed right through, his mother following suit. Lily was taken aback; she had never seen anyone pass through a solid wall before. She gave her parents a reassuring look and headed for the barrier herself. She braced for impact, squeezing her eyes shut, but it never came.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing on a busy platform but it didn't look anything like the one she had just left behind. She saw people of all ages dressed in long robes either saying their goodbyes to each other or greeting each other enthusiastically. On the tracks, stood a magnificent scarlet steam engine bearing the name 'Hogwarts Express'. Several children were hanging out of its windows, waving at their families.

She turned around and saw that her family was already on the platform, but they looked very shocked. Lily spotted Sev a little distance away. She gave her father a warm hug, who kissed her on her forehead. Her mother was close to tears.

"I'm going to miss you," she sobbed. "Promise me you'll be good, and stay out of trouble."

"Mum, I never get into trouble," Lily replied cheekily.

She went over to hug Petunia but her sister moved out of the way. She made to turn but lily caught hold of her arm.

"Let me go," hissed Petunia, trying to wrentch her arm free but Lily kept a firm gripon it.

"Let me go you freak!" shreiked Petunia.

"Tuney..." Lily sputtered, tears filling her eyes. Petunia secceeded in tugging her arm away. Lily had no idea why Petunia was acting this way. "I'm not a freak... that's a horrible thing to say."

"That's where you're going," said Petunia with relish,"A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy... weirdos, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."

Lily glanced towards her parents, who were now looking around the platform with an air of whole hearted enjoyment, drinking in the scene. Then she looked back at her sister, and her voice was low and fierce. "You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the Headmaster and begged him to take you."

Petunia turned scarlet. "Begged? I didn't beg!"

"I saw his reply. It was very kind"

"You shouldn't have read-" whispered Petunia. "That was my private- how could you-?"

Lily gave herself away by half glancing towards where Severus stood.

Petunia gasped. "That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"

"No- not sneaking-" now Lily was on the defensive. "Severus saw the envelope and couldn't believe a muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working under cover in the postal service who take care of-"

"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" said Petunia, now as pale as she had been flushed.

"FREAK!" she spat at her sister, and she flounced off to where her parents stood.

Lily stood there, tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away hastily and gave her parents one last hug before she boarded the train.


	2. Hogwarts Express: Part 2

AN- Hello! Thank you so much for reading. Reviews will be greatly appreciated. This is James POV now. I'll be doing both Lily and James' POV alternatively.

James Potter was absolutely delighted to be going to Hogwarts. He had heard marvellous tales about the legendary castle and couldn't wait to be there.

After saying hurried goodbyes to his parents he heaved his trunk onto the scarlet train. He was looking for a compartment when he tripped over something.

"Oi! Be careful!" said a voice from beside him. The boy who had caused James to fall was no older than he was. He was exceptionally handsome and had shaggy black hair with grey eyes that seemed to be twinkling with something that was often seen in James' own hazel eyes.

"Sorry," James muttered. After getting up he held out his hand.

"I'm James Potter. It's my first year at Hogwarts."

The boy shook his hand and replied,"Sirius Black. Mine too"

They hit it off immediately and started walking along the corridor together, looking for a compartment. They found a relatively empty one towards the end; it had only one occupant in it. James and his new found friend Sirius stowed away their trunks and began discussing anything and everything from Quidditch to Diagon Alley.

A few minutes of animated conversation later a boy entered their compartment wearing his Hogwarts robes. He went and sat down on the window seat opposite the other occupant who was staring out of the window silently. James ignored the two till he heard someone mention 'Slytherin'.

"Slytherin?" said James. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" he asked Sirius.

Sirius didn't smile but said, "My whole family have been in Slytherin."

"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed alright!"

Sirius grinned. "Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

Lifting an invisible sword James said, "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Just like my dad."

The other boy in the compartment made a small noise. James turned on him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No replied the boy, sneering at James. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius.

At this James roared with laughter.

The girl in the compartment sat up. "Come on Severus, let's find another compartment," she said.

"Oooo," James and Sirius immitated her lofty voice and tried to trip the boy on his way out.

"See ya, Snivellus!" shouted Sirius as the door slammed shut.

After that they had an uninterupted journey to Hogwarts. They bought a load of sweets from the lady with the trolley and changed into their school robes as the sun was setting.

"I'm getting hungry," Sirius announced and his stomach grumbled as if on cue.

James grinned at him and the train began slowing down, till it had completely stopped.

"We're here," said James happily. All those years he had waited to set foot in the school and finally that moment was here.


	3. The Castle

AN: Hey everyone! Thank you for reading and please review!

Lily hopped off the train followed by Severus. She noticed the two boys she had met on the train were right behind her and she rolled her eyes at them. The one with the glasses simply smirked at her.

"Firs' years this way!" called a gruff voice. Lily looked up and saw the largest human ever, standing a little distance from them and shepherding the first years towards the left while other students went right.

They followed the abnormally large man towards a lake where several small boats stood waiting for them.

"Four to a boat," said the man. To Lily's disgust Severus and she were joined by those horrible boys from the train.

As soon as all the students were in a boat, they began to move forward. Lily noticed the man who had led them to the lake was sitting in a boat all by himself and still seemed to require more space.

As the boats moved further on, they turned right. That's when Lily saw it for the first time.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

It was much bigger than she had imagined and definetly much older too. Since it was completely dark now, several of the windows were lit. The castle was spread over a large area and had uncountable towers and turrets.

To Lily it felt like the castle was hiding a lot of secrets and the place had something mysterious about it but she couldn't understand what. She was reminded about the time when she was younger. She would dream of being a princess and would imagine herself living in a castle with a pet dragon and fairies flying all around. She also remembered the time when Petunia still liked her and when they would play together. She felt upset again but she got over it soon. She wasn't going to let anything ruin Hogwarts for her.

The boats had reached the other end of the lake and they stopped with the slightest bump. The students climbed out of the boats and followed the man down a long path and through a large gate and up a flight of stairs.

At the top of the stairs a stern looking witch was waiting for them. Her slightly greying hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her robes were exceptionally neat. She held out a hand signalling them to stop.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said. "I am Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress. You will soon be joining the rest of the school in the Great Hall before whom you will be sorted into one of the four houses which are: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. As long as you remain in school, your house will be like your family. You will eat with them and share a common room with them. Hopefully you will all be a credit to the house you're placed in." Lily could've sworn those last words were directed to the boy with the glasses from the train who stood a little behind her.

AN: Please PM me or leave a review with any criticism or suggestions, they really help.


	4. The Sorting

AN: So they've reached Hogwarts and are ready to be sorted. This chapter is James' POV. Thank you for reading and please leave a review!

Professor McGonagall lead them through two doors, entering a hall where the rest of the school had already assembled.

There were four long tables, one for each house. James looked ahead and saw the long staff table and at the centre sat Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster, his elbows resting on the table, the tips of his fingers together and his brilliant blue eyes sparkling beneath his half-moon spectacles.

The first years stood in a line in the centre of the hall. Professor McGonagall had gone to the front of the hall. She was standing next to a three-legged stool on top of which an old, battered hat sat and was holding a scroll in her hands.

"When I call out your name, please step forward," she addressed the first years. James suddenly felt nervous, something he wasn't used to.

"Abbot Johnathan," she called. A boy with sandy blonde hair walked up to the stool shakily. Professor McGonagall placed the worn out hat on his head.

"Hufflepuff!" tha hat shouted. James noticed the girl from the train gasp in surprise. The hall broke into applause, but the table to their left was the most enthusiastic, which was obviously the Hufflepuff table. After Johnathan, David Armstrong was sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Black Sirius," McGonagall called and suddenly the hall went silent. James looked over at the Slytherin table and most of them looked eager as if they were sure Sirius would join them. That's when James realised why Sirius' name was so familiar to him. He had heard his father talk about the Black family a few times. His father had said that they were a pureblooded family and were proud for being one. They were supporters of Dark Magic and hated muggles and muggleborns. But James would not judge him on the basis of his background. Sirius had been nice to him and didn't seem to be prejudice at all. In fact he had been telling James about muggle models and how much better they were then the ones in the wizarding world.

Sirius walked up confidently and just before he sat on the stool he winked at McGonagall. The hat took very long to make its final decision but in the end it yelled, "Gryffindor!"

Sirius hopped off the stool and strutted over to the Gryffindor table. He grinned at James and James felt a surge of joy for his friend but it suddenly died. James became even more anxious.

By the time James snapped out of his thoughts Dirk Crabbe had been sorted into Slytherin and Richard Davies had been sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Evans Lily," McGonagall called and the girl from the train stepped forward. James noticed she was breathing deeply, probably trying to calm herself down. Her red shoulder length hair was falling around her face almost covering it from view.

After a minute the hat shouted, "Gryffindor!" She smiled while returning the hat to McGonagall but it turned apologetic when she looked at the boy also from the train. The boys pale face had a sad expression on it as he watched Lily sit at the Gryffindor table.

Some of the others who were lucky enough to get sorted into Gryffindor were Alice Green, Frank Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Mary McDonald, Marlene McKinnon and Peter Pettigrew.

"Potter James," McGonagall called after what seemed like forever. James walked to the stool, dread taking over every part of his body. He saw Sirius give him a thumbs up from the Gryffindor table.

"Ah! A Potter! All of you seem the same I daresay," said a voice in Jamse' head. James knew it was the sorting hat. "You're intelligent, maybe more than you predecessors. Your loyalty can outshine that of a Hufflepuff... but I'm positive that the house for you is...

"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the hat to the rest of the hall. The students clapped as James joined Sirius at the Gryffindor table. His father was going to be so proud.

AN: James and Sirius have been sorted! Now its Lily's turn.


	5. A Friend lost, and Three More Found

p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"AN: Hello everybody! So I've corrected the errors in the previous chapters and I'm sorry if they caused any inconvenience to anyone. Please leave a review with your views about my writing so that I can improve./p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Lily was ecstatic because she had been sorted into Gryffindor, but to her utter horror so had Black and Potter, those annoying boys from the train. p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Lily waited with bated breath as Severus was called up by Professor McGonagall. Barely two seconds had passed after being placed on his head that the sorting hat shouted.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""SLYTHERIN!" was the word it yelled out. Lily's heart sank. She had been separated from her only friend. At the same time she felt happy for him because that's where Severus had wanted to be.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Sev looked pleased with himself as he made his way to the Slytherin table. Lily saw some of the older students congratulate him and thump him on his back.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Once the last few students had been sorted, the hat along with the stool were carried out of the Great Hall. The Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore stood up his arms spread wide in greeting.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""To the new students, Welcome to Hogwarts. To the old, welcome back." He scanned the hall, taking in all the faces that stared up at him. "Before we all are befuddled by our magnificent feast I would like to thank our Gameskeeper Rubeus Hagrid for bringing the first years up to the castle safely. I wish to remind you that no student is to wander about the castle past curfew and that the Forbidden Forest is indeed forbidden. All of you are advised not to venture anywhere near it. Our Caretaker, Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you that all Zonko's products are banned and any found shall be confiscated. And finally, Tuck in!"p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"Suddenly, golden plates full of the most mouth-watering food appeared on each of the tables. There were mashed potatoes, chicken wings and everything that could possibly come under the category of delicious. It was only then that Lily realised how hungry she was. She began piling her plate up with food.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Hi! I'm Alice," said a round faced girl in front of her. "Alice Green."p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Lily. Lily Evans," she replied shaking the girls outstretched hand.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""You need to try the pork stew," Alice advised her.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Wait till you try the pudding. I've heard it's the best you can get anywhere," said a girl beside who sat beside Alice. "I'm Marlene McKinnon by the way, and this is Mary," she said pointing to the girl next to her. The girl gave Alice and Lily a shy smile.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""So I guess we'll be sharing a dorm," Alice said. "Should be fun."p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;""Fun? It's going to be amazing!" squeeled Marlene. Mary just smiled at her.p  
>p style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"The four girls talked and laughed and ate till they were fit to burst. The pudding, Lily had to agree, was the best she'd ever had.p 


	6. Gryffindor Tower

**AN: A special shout out to "Queen Charlotte the Courageous" for reading my story and for reviewing every chapter. It means a lot to me that you're taking out the time to read this.**

After the feast, James and Sirius went up to Gryffindor Tower with the rest of their house. The common room was covered with red and gold and it had a handsome marble fireplace where a fire was crackling happily.

The two raven-haired boys had stuffed their faces and James had discovered that Sirius' stomach was a bottomless pit. James followed Sirius up to their dormitory which had five four-poster beds. All the trunks had been brought up and had been placed at the foot of beds.

Sirius climbed onto his bed and began jumping on the soft mattress. Just then two boys entered. The taller of the two collapsed on his bed and began snoring, fully dressed. Only then did James notice the short, plump and watery eyed boy who had been hiding behind the now sleeping mound.

James recognised his dorm mates from the feast but he couldn't remember their names. He thought the boy with the brown hair was called Loopy but he wasn't sure.

"Hi, I'm Remus Lupin," said Loopy. "That's Frank," he pointed to the boy who was sleeping. "And this is Peter," he indicated to the small boy behind him who gave a small 'hi'.

"Potter. James Potter," James replied shaking Remus' outstretched hand.

"And I'm Prince Sirius. Bow before me," Sirius said, a little breathlessly since he was still jumping on his bed.

"You might want to stop that mate. You'll throw up." James warned him, his eyes itching with tiredness.

Sirius stopped at once, falling in heap onto his bed. "I'm going to bed. Don't want to miss out on my beauty sleep," he informed as he took out his night clothes from his trunk.

Remus pointed at Sirius and gave James a look that clearly said: _is something wrong with him?_

James just chuckled and began putting on his night clothes. He bid his friends goodnight, feeling content with the days proceedings. He got into bed, removed his glasses and succumbed into a deep sleep the moment his head touched his pillow.

**AN: I need some help about what I should do next. Should I carry on with their first year, move into their fifth year or head directly to their seventh year. I'm not to keen on writing their first few years because that might get monotonous and boring. But I'll do whatever you guys want me to! :) **


	7. Fifth Year: Part 1

**AN: As requested, I've moved into their fifth year. Hope you guys like it!**

In the morning Lily was rudely awoken by Alice who was knocking on her head. She groaned as she turned to her side causing Alice to fall on the stone floor. Lily heard Alice yelp but Lily couldn't care less. _Serves her right for waking me up, _she thought.

"Lily you have to get out of bed unless you want McGonagall to give us detention on our first day back!" she said, shaking Lily. Lily's eyes snapped open.

"Classes!" she said as she threw off her covers. She scurried to the end of her bed and pulled out her uniform from her trunk. She washed up, wore her uniform and was ready in five minutes flat.

"That has go to be a world record for the fastest any one has ever gotten dressed," Alice mused. Once Mary and Marlene were ready, the four girls went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. As soon as they sat down, Lily poured herself a glass of juice.

"So how are things with you and Frank?" Marlene asked Alice biting into her toast. Alice and Frank Longbottom had started "courting" each other in their fourth year. At this Alice sat up a bit straighter.

"Good," came her reply.

Marlene was not satisfied. "Is there something you're not telling us?" she enquired.

"Well... I've been meaning to tell you guys... It's not much... But Frank and I went out a couple of times during the summer," she finished, turning red. Lily couldn't be happier for her friend. It was common knowledge that Frank and Alice were meant to be. Well, it was common knowledge to those who weren't Frank and Alice.

"Really?" Mary squeeled. "What did you do?" Mary wanted to know. Mary loved soppy, romantic stories. Especially real ones. Mary didn't talk much around others but her close friends knew how well informed she was. If you wanted any information about anybody at Hogwarts, Mary was the person to go to. Lily always thought that Mary had a bipolar personality, but all the same Lily didn't know what she would do without her.

"He took me out to restaurant once. The food was fabulous! And on the second date we went to the muggle movies," Alice said softly.

Before she could say any more, Marlene interrupted her. "Please spare us the details," she cried dramatically, squeezing her eyes shut and throwing her hands over her ears causing Lily to snicker, Mary to glare at her and Alice to turn an even deeper shade of red. Marlene didn't believe in love, she thought it was just something people made up in their heads as they went along.

"That's sounds wonderful Alice!" Lily said in a desperate attempt to divert everyones attention. Alice just gave her a sheepish grin. Lily wished Alice knew how lucky she was to have found a guy like Frank. Lily hoped that someday, she too would have what Alice did... But as of now that was nowhere in sight; better for her, she had a future to build and needed no distractions sighed inwardly in spite of herself and gulped down the rest of her juice.


	8. Fifth Year: Part 2

AN: A big thank you to everyone who has out this story on their story alert list! It makes me really happy that people are actually reading this.

James woke up completely drenched. Apparently Sirius thought the best way to wake him up was by pouring ice cold water on him. He gasped for air as he sat up in bed, trying to locate his wand from his bedside table.

"You git!" he yelled at Sirius who had a wide grin plastered on his face. He flicked his wand at his best mate and Sirius went flying off his bed and dangling upside down, three feet above it. He muttered the counter curse and fell on his bed in a heap.

"Will you to stop acting like children and get ready?" Moony scolded. James smiled evilly at him. One look was all it took for Sirius to understand what was going on beneath the mop of untamable hair. Everything happened so fast that in a split second James found himself tackling Moony to the ground, Padfoot in tow.

The three boys wrestled on the floor for a good amount of time. After they had had enough, they lay panting with their clothes dampened from James still soaking night clothes.

"I think we should go down for breakfast now," Wormtail squeeked. He never really got involved in any of the Marauders' activities and only followed the other three boys around. He did take part in some of their pranks but James knew that was only because he didn't want to get left out.

They got dressed and trudged down for breakfast. Once there James began piling his plate up with eggs and sausages.

"What do you think a good start-of-term prank would be?" Sirius asked the group of four. James thought about this. They had used up a lot of good jokes in the past, so they were a little low on ideas but you never know what to expect from The Marauders. That was the name that the people had chosen for them.

"You can't possibly be thinking about playing pranks on people now that I'm a prefect, are you?" Moony asked in disbelief.

"Well of curse I am. You're a prefect now. That gives us access to out of bounds places, we can roam the castle past curfew. This is the best thing to happen to us," James said, dead-panning.

Any further argument was cut off by the arrival of Professor McGonagall with their time tables.

"How were your holiday's Professor?" Sirius asked with a charming smile, leaning back in his place.

The ageing Professor gave him an odd look but responded none the less," They were fine. Thank you for asking Mr. Black."

Sirius made to ask another, undoubtedly cheeky, question but was stopped by Remus stepping on his foot.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" Sirius turned to him.

"We're going to be late for class," came the reply as Moony stood up and signalled the others to do the same. "And also because I don't want detention on our first day back."


	9. Double Potions

**AN: A massive thank you to everyone who has put this story on their favourite story list and have subscribed to it. It made my day!**

The first class Lily had was double potions. Potions was Lily's best subject and she was really looking forward to it, even if it was with the Slytherins. She reached class early so that she could get a good place and all the while Alice kept complaining about how miserable she was at the subject and about how Lily should just let her copy her homework.

Professor Slughorn arrived and let them into the class room. The students took their seats and took out their text books.

"Welcome class!" Professor Slughorn greeted them enthusiastically. "Today you shall be brewing A Cheering Potion. Now before you begin, I will be pairing you up according to your capability, meaning no offence to your individual talents, in the subject." Lily groaned. She wanted to be partners with Alice and even though their potion skills were poles apart, Professor Slughorn was never going to pair them up together ever since they had blown up that cauldron in third year because Alice had stirred their potion clockwise instead of anti-clockwise.

"Mr. Snape and Ms. Green..." Professor was saying. Lily looked at Alice who was completely petrified. She timidly made her way over to the scrawny Slytherin. Lily noticed Severus at the other end of the classroom and he returned her wave with a very discreet smile.

"Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter..." Lily was shocked. Why on earth would Professor Slughorn put her with Potter? Did he want her to burst into flames? Lily looked over to where Potter sat and saw him grinning widely at her.

She grudgingly dragged herself to his desk. She slammed her bag on the table without looking at him.

"Hey Evans," he said cheerily.

"Potter," Lily acknowledged stiffly. She sat down and waited for further instructions from their teacher.

"Has everyone got a partner?" Professor Slughorn asked the class. "Good. Now these Pairings are going to be permanent till the end of the first term. We will be trying to help each other excel at this subject, yes? Alright then, begin!"

This had got to be the worst start to a day Lily had ever had. She glanced at Potter whose grin got even wider, as if possible. _If I ignore him, everything should be alright_, she thought to herself. She took out her cauldron and began getting the ingredients ready. She noticed that Potter still hadn't moved.

"Aren't you going to help me with the potion?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Do you want to be blown to bits?" he cross questioned.

She didn't talk to him any further and began the potion by herself. Halfway through she let her eyes wander to him. He was leaning back in his chair and was lazily flicking his wand at Remus' head, watching his hair turn from brown to blue to green.

"Stop that!" she snapped at him, causing him to start and forcing him out of his day dream.

"What?" he asked puzzeled, obviously unaware of what he had been doing. Lily just shook her head and changed Remus' hair colour back to the original brown.

James sighed, "What do you want me to do?"

"You could start by cutting those roots," she replied. He stood up and Lily noticed how tall he had become. He took her knife and began chopping them.

"See something you like, Evans?" he asked her without looking up, as small smile playing on his lips. It was then Lily realised that she was still staring at him. She quickly looked away.

"In your dreams," she snorted.

"Really? So you won't go out with me?" he asked, turning to face her. Wait what? Had Lily's ears deceived her? Did James Potter just ask her out? The boy who had always humiliated every chance he got was her asking her out? Lily snapped.

"Go out with you?" she asked baffled. " Why would I want to go out with you?" She was still seemed a little taken aback by her reaction. It was probably because every girl, and even some boys, in school fawned over him and his stupid friends and everyone other than Lily seemed too blind to see his arrogance and big-headedness. The look of shock that had barely made it to Potters face was replaced with that awful smirk of his.

"You could've just said no," he said smirking at her all the while. At that moment the bell rang and Lily Knocked his hand out of the way, grabbed her bag and exited the class without another word. This was going to be a long year.

AN: Apologies for any errors, I typed this very fast because my school has started today and I have a ton of work lined up. I could've waited till the weekend but I really wanted to get a chapter up because of all the people who are actually reading this (to my surprise). Thank you for reading and please leave a review!


	10. The Full Moon

AN: Hello readers! I've made a couple of changes in chapter nine (nothing too big) because of some minor details eg: I realised Alice and Crabbe can't be partners in potions since both of them are pretty bad at it.

James walked out of potions with Remus, Sirius had not taken the subject and Peter was too dreadful at it for him to pursue it.

He kept his eyes on a particular red head walking up ahead as he was deep in thought, trying to make sense of the events that had just passed. He had just asked Evans out. He didn't know what made him do it but it had just slipped out. He remembered how when his hand made contact with hers he felt a tingling sensation up his arm and down his spine. He realised how crestfallen he'd felt when she had rejected him. He had never been rejected before... by anyone. No girl had ever refused him before... until now. He was going to change that.

Remus and James were joined by the other two Marauders as they made their way to Transfiguration. They took their usual seats at the back.

"Today you will be transfiguring living beings. Each one of you is to take a toad and turn it into a sparrow. This is not very easy and I do not expect any of you to get it right on the first try. But this is absolutely necessary for your O.W.L examinations," McGonagall announced to the class. The students shuffled around the classroom to get the toads they were to perform the magic on from a cage in the corner.

Once James had got a toad he flicked his wand at the slimy creature and it instantly turned into a sparrow. His sparrow took off from his desk and began circling the classroom. Seconds later it was joined by another bird of its kind. James looked to his right and as expected Padfoot had also transformed his toad on his first try. The two birds circled the classroom at top speed and dove down only to circle McGonagall's head.

"Well done Mr. Black, Mr. Potter. I see you have managed to transfigure the animal perfectly. Ten points each to Gryffindor," McGonagall said proudly with a hint of a smile on her face. She swished her wand and the birds were gone. They were barely ten minutes into the class so James was now completely free.

He had always been good at Transfiguration especially since he along with Padfoot and Wormtail had become Animagi to help Moony through his monthly transfigurations to a werewolf. They couldn't keep him company in human form so Padfoot and he would transform into a dog and a stag respectively, so that they were large and strong enough to control him and Peter would transform into a rat, so that he was small enough to press the knot on the trunk of the Whomping Willow which would immobilise the tree and allow them to enter the tunnel which led to the shrieking shack.

It was then that James remembered that it was a full moon night that day and that meant he would not complete the mountain of homework he was bound to get since it was their O.W.L year.

That night Remus left for the Hospital Wing from where Madam Pomfrey, the matron would escort him to the Willow. The remaining three Marauders waited in the common room until their map told them it was safe. They crept down to the Front Doors under James' invisibility cloak and went over to the Willow. They were almost there when the moon began creeping out from behind the clouds. Peter immediately transformed into a rat and pressed the knot on the trunk of the lashing tree and it stopped flailing its branches.

James concentrated, forcing himself into stag form. He could feel his limbs growing longer, his jaw moving outward and a prickly sensation all over his skin which was from the fur sprouting. Finally he felt his antlers growing out from his head. Within seconds he was a fully grown stag with beige fur. The only feature which seemed to remain a constant were his eyes, they were still hazel. James looked to his left and saw a large black dog, standing exactly where Sirius had been moments ago, looking at him intently.

They walked down the tunnel and heard moans coming from a little distance away and he knew that Moony was transforming. By the time they reached the Shrieking Shack at the end of the tunnel Remus had already transformed.

A full grown werewolf stared at James and he should have felt scared but he just walked over and lay down on the ground, Sirius following suit. Peter could be heard squeeking in a corner but he wasn't visible.

James could tell that Remus was still calculating for possible threat but seeing none he looked out of the barred window and let out a long, piercing, spine chilling howl.

At about half past three in the morning Moony turned back into himself and he looked rather relieved that he had not hurt any of the others. He had tried to escape the shack but his friends hadn't let that happen. Remus had also began scratching himself but they put a stop to that with no major injuries. Madam Pomfrey would be coming to take him back to the Hospital Wing which meant the other three couldn't stay there much longer. They dragged themselves up to the castle and to their dormitory. James had barely closed his eyes that he had to wake up again to attend another day of classes.


	11. Zombies At Breakfast

AN: I'm sorry for not uploading, I've been very busy with school and I'm not allowed to use my laptop much but that's no excuse for the lack of new chapters. I really am very sorry.

During breakfast the next day Lily was shocked to see three extremely familiar boys walk into the hall looking like zombies. It took her a moment to realise that they were the Marauders, all except Remus. That was strange, Remus hadn't even made it to the prefect duty that he shared with her last night.

Lily watched as the boys stumbled towards the Gryffindor Table. Black's face fell onto his plate, Potter was resting his head on his hand, his mouth slightly open with his eyes closed and Pettigrew was dozing in his seat, he toppled over because he leaned back to far; Black and Potter didn't even stir.

Lily couldn't help but laugh. She regained her composure immediately when she realised that they had probably spent the previous night wandering about the castle and plotting new pranks.

"Where's Remus?" Mary asked a little concerned.

"Why don't you ask them," Lily replied, also wanting to know. Mary turned to the sleeping boys.

"Sirius," Mary called. "Sirius," she repeated but he didn't move. "SIRIUS BLACK!" Mary bellowed, which was quite unusual. The boy in question stirred but he didn't wake up. Mary whacked him over the head with a spoon.

"Ow!" Sirius complained, rubbing the back of his head. "What do you want?"

"Where's Remus?" she repeated her earlier question but saying it very slowly as if she were talking to a child.

"Wha-? He's in the library," he muttered, flopping his head back onto his plate.

Without another word Mary skipped off, most probably to look for the missing Marauder. Lily finished the rest of her breakfast alone, Marlene and Alice were doing some last minute homework, and then left for the day's lessons. As soon as she stepped out of the hall she heard a voice call her. She turned around to see Severus running towards her.

"I need to speak to you," he panted.

"About what?" Lily enquired.

"Potter," he spat. He said the name with such distaste that it was evident that Severus hated him.

"What?"

"Promise me Lils, that you will stay away from him."

"Why?" Lily knew that Sev hated Potter.

"I'll explain later," he muttered when he saw a few Slytherins approaching them.

That night in the Gryffindor common room Potter had taken it upon himself to annoy the life out of Lily.

"Hey Evans!" Potter said between the howls of laughter emitting from the Marauders table but Lily ignored him.

"EVANS!" he shouted.

"What?" she snapped.

"Will you-?" he started.

"No!" she seethed. He had been asking her out every chance he got, it was getting on her nerves.

"I wasn't asking you out," he said, looking a little hurt.

"Oh," she suddenly felt stupid. "What is it?" she asked a little more politely. He grinned at her.

"Can I borrow your Potions essay?" he asked. Lily glared at him. "Well you see, as we are partners, both of us will receive the same grades so unless you want to fail..." Lily threw her book at him but to her dismay he caught it with his chaser reflexes.

"I'll take that as a no," he said still grinning.

"Give it back Potter," she said taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

"But you were the one who gave it to me!" he said with fake innocence.

"Give it back," she repeeated, her green eyes twinkling dangerously. He must have sensed her frustration because he tossed it back to her.

That night Lily went to bed while thinking about how much she hated a certain quidditch player more than anything on the face of this earth.


	12. Quidditch Tryouts

AN: Hey everyone! Like I said updates might get a little slower because my school has opened but I'm trying to get a chapter out whenever I can. A big thank you to all the people who have added this story to their favourite story list as well as to their story alert list. I would really like it if you would leave me a few reviews.

James had never felt so burdened. The O.W.L. students were up to the eyeballs with homework which he barely managed to complete. On top of the dozens of essay's James had to do, he also had Quidditch practices to attend.

The Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts were on the following Saturday. James was already on the team as a chaser but it was necessary for all members to attend. When he reached the pitch with Sirius, who was the keeper, he was surprised by the number of people who had turned up.

"Can I have your attention please!" David Wood, the Gryffindor captain announced and the buzz of chatter died down. "Any first years, please leave," a couple of dejected children left, their shoulders sagging. James was reminded of the time when he and Sirius had tried out for the team in their first year and had gotten in but then they were chucked out when the captain realised they were too young.

"Now," Wood was saying, "There are four spots open on the team; the ones for a beater, a seeker and two chasers."

James was happy with the way the team was shaping up. Their new beater was a seventh year, Fabian Prewett. The new chasers were a third year, Ashton Cole and a fourth year whose name James had forgotten. The last position that needed to be filled was that of the seeker. Not as many people were trying out for the spot, James only recognised Marlene McKinnon out of the entire lot.

"Go Marlene!" yelled a voice from the stands James swerved around on his broom to see Lily clapping for her friend. Had he been so engrossed in the trials that he did not notice her? Lily with the flaming red hair? He nearly slipped of his broom at the sight of her. Once he brought his concentration back to the try outs, Marlene had already been welcomed onto the team.

"Well done mate!" Sirius thumped a very pleased looking David on the back. "This calls for a celebration!" he added.

"We have to complete a sixteen inch long essay for Flitwick," James reminded him. He was suddenly feeling like Moony.

"Why do the teachers want to ruin our lives!" Sirius asked dramatically, bringing a hand to his forehead. James just rolled his eyes but grinned at his best mate. Once in Gryffindor Tower, James took a warm bath, it always helped him to unwind. He rubbed his eyes and thought of how Lily had come to cheer her friend. He wondered if she would ever do the same for him no matter how unlikely that seemed. She hated him and she probably always would but that didn't mean that he would stop trying.

AN: I don't know why Lily's POV is always longer than James'. I'll try and make them of equal length. Please review!


	13. Almost Christmas

**AN: I'm so sorry that I haven't uploaded for a few days, but like I said school is on and it is just not helping. Hope you guys are having a good weekend! Please review!**

Lily was so glad that Marlene had gotten into the Quiditch team but that just meant that she would be getting close to no time for her homework. Which also meant that Lily was going to be doing most of it.

Lily sat at their usual table by the window with the other three girls. She was chatting with Alice since they had finished their work and Marlene and Mary were trying to make their handwriting as large as possible while they complained away to glory about how difficult their essay was.

Just then Potter emerged from the boys staircase wearing pajamas. His hair was dripping wet and even then it managed to stuck out at odd angles.

"Hey Evans!" he called with a huge grin on his face. Lily had been expecting this.

"My answer is still no," she replied in a tired voice. His hurt expression vanished even before it came and he flashed her another grin. Lily watched out of the corner of her eye as he flopped down next to Remus on the couch in front of the fire. Water was dripping from his hair onto his Puddlemere United sweat shirt. His hazel eyes staring into the fire but they were unfocused.

She realised that Alice was watching her staring at Potter so she turned her attention back to her round faced friend. Alice was smiling at her with her eyebrows raised.

"What?" Lily asked a little defensively.

"Nothing," Alice answered with a mischievous smile. Lily felt her cheeks go red and Alice laughed. "It's okay. Your secret is safe with me," she whispered so that the other two girls couldn't hear.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked not knowing what was going on in her best friends head.

"Nothing," she repeated.

"We're done," Mary announced, pushing her books away.

"Finally," Marlene added, closing her inkpot and yawning loudly. The girls got up and left the common room. Lily curled up in bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

The months went by very fast but their studies didn't cease for a moment. Professor Slughorn wanted to have a party with the members of the 'Slug Club' and he had given most of the duties to Lily.

It was nearly Christmas but all the fifth years could think about were the O.W.L.'s. None of the fifth and seventh years went home for Christmas (it took Lily a lot to convince her family about her not being home for the holidays but she knew Petunia would be absolutely delighted) which meant that the common room would be full. Lily knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate, especially with a particularly rowdy group of boys hovering around her, so she would go to the library with her books.

The library was unusually full, not only for the Christmas break but possibly even for exam time. It seemed like all the students who had stayed behind were there. Lily took nearly three rounds of the library looking for an empty seat but to no avail. Defeated, Lily sat down next to Remus at the marauders table. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad since we're not allowed to talk, she tried to console herself. It was either this or the common room where some annoying first years had set of several dungbombs at once.

Lily silently greeted Remus, the only Marauder she actually liked and ignored the others who were gaping at her. They must have been wondering what had caused Lily Evans to sit at their table without being threatened to.


	14. Snowball Fight

AN: I thank all the people who have put this story on their alert story and their favourite story list and thank you to all the people who are reading this story. Please review!

Remus had forced Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs to go to the library with him so that they could finish all their pending homework on time. James thought that Moony simply wanted to torture the others but his mind instantly changed when he saw a flash of red disappear behind a bookshelf. Evans... James thought, smiling to himself.

Just then as if on cue the red-head came trudging into view. She sat next to Remus but didn't acknowledge anyone else. James looked at the others and found they were as surprised by her arrival. He couldn't help but grin. Just then she looked up and their eyes met but she quickly looked away. James realised that he was still grinning goofily.

After half an hour of awkward silence during which Wormtail kept darting his eyes towards Evans as if scared she might explode, She got up and left without a word. All of a sudden James didn't feel like wasting his time in the library anymore. He began to work out strategies for their upcoming Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. James liked the Hufflepuff team because they always played fair but that didn't mean that they were easy to defeat.

All the Marauders finished a chunk of their homework and went back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password," asked The Fat Lady once they were there.

"Mistletoe," Remus said and the portrait swung forward to let them in. After staying cooped up inside the walls of the castle for so long, James was itching to go out and get some fresh air although it was very cold.

The four of them went down to the open courtyard and something extremely cold and wet hit James on the back of his head, making him shiver. He spun around to see Sirius doubled over with laughter. James bent down, picked up a massive lump of snow from the ground, patted it into a ball and flung it towards Sirius, who was standing straight but still smiling , hitting him square in the face.

It was James turn to laugh and he received a mouthful of snow in return. He aimed a snowball at Peter who was trying to make snowman and hit his target. Remus stood watching with amusement as his three immature friends throw ice at each other. He was shaking his head at their childish behaviour and then all together he was hit with three snowballs. He couldn't help but join in on their snowball war.

"Nice one Padfoot," James laughed as he watched Peter fall over with the force of Sirius' last snowball. It was then when he realised that his best friend hurled a rather large ball of ice at him. He ducked just in time and it hit something behind James knocking that person down.

"POTTER!" Lily bellowed looking furious. James cursed silently as he went over to help her up but she refused to take any help from him.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked, her head half covered with snow.

"Sorry. I didn't mean- Sirius threw- I duck-" he tried to say but she glared at him with such hatred that he fell silent. His heart sank.

She turned on her heel and stomped off leaving James staring after her. Suddenly it didn't feel like Christmas Eve anymore.


	15. Christmas Eve: Part 1

AN: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading and please leave a review!

Lily tried to brush off the snow from her hair as she was walking up to Gryffindor Tower. When she had finished her work in the library she had gone to meet Hagrid because she had promised to have tea with him. On her way back from Hagrid's hut Potter had thrown a snowball at her head and had knocked her down.

Stupid Potter, she thought. That self centred, immature, annoying bully. She muttered the password to the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole. Her rotten mood completely changed when she saw the beautifully decorated Christmas Tree.

She settled herself in front of the fire, beside Alice and Marlene who were playing a game of exploding snap.

"Where's Mary?" Lily asked.

"Sleeping," Marlene replied, without looking up.

"Right now? But it's too early! And she hasn't even had dinner yet." Lily exclaimed.

"According to her the earlier she sleeps, the faster tomorrow will come," Marlene smiled. Lily loved her friends and their odd habits. They were amazing people and she couldn't imagine her life, let alone Hogwarts, without them.

Lily stood up and motioned the other two to follow her.

"What are we doing?" Alice asked, a little confused.

"Waking up Mary of course," Lily replied as if that was very obvious. The three girls climbed up the staircase and entered their dormitory without a sound. Plan two, Marlene mouthed to them. Alice and Lily nodded, evil grins spreading across each of their faces. Alice took her position next to Mary's bed, Lily took out a spoon and pan from under her bed. They had stolen it from the kitchen in their second year because it was then when they had formed Plan Two.

Alice counted down from three using her fingers, and as the last finger went down all three of them simultaneously began their part. Alice hopped onto Mary's bed and began jumping on it, Marlene began yelling out her lungs and Lily was banging the spoon against the pan as hard as she could. Immediately Mary sat up looking very shaken and confused. Alice, Marlene and Lily couldn't stop laughing at the frightened expression on their friends face.

At seven that evening they went down to the Great Hall for dinner, with a very furious Mary. It was emptier than usual since quite a few students had gone home for the break, and as every year it was decorated with twelve large Christmas Trees. The hall, like the rest of the school, was also decorated with mistletoe and wreaths.

Lily began helping herself to the exceptionally brilliant Christmas feast but her glorious time was cut short when her group was joined by the Marauders along with Frank, though Lily didn't mind the latter.

To Lily's utter dismay, big-headed Potter took the seat beside her. To avoid any contact with him, Lily looked anywhere but at him and that was when she noticed the dirty looks almost every girl in the hall was giving her. She quickly looked back at her plate, not liking the unwanted attention.

Lily felt the prat watching her and she just had to find out what his problem was. She looked at him and instantly regretted it because his face broke into a grin.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Evans," he said. "Sirius threw the snowball and I moved out of the way. I didn't know you were behind me." Lily risked another look at him and she saw that he looked genuinely apologetic.

"It's alright, Potter," she replied stiffly. His grin grew wider.


	16. Christmas: Part 1

AN: Hey everyone! Thank you for reading and please review!

James always woke up early on Christmas and this year was no exception.

"Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! JINGLE ALL THE WAY!" he bellowed at the top of his voice. At the sound of his voice Sirius covered his head with a pillow and Peter curled up into a ball under his blanket. Remus didn't even budge but Frank grabbed the first thing he could lay his hands on and chucked it at James. James dodged out of the way skilfully and carried on singing.

"You sound like a dying cat," came Sirius' muffled voice from under his pillow.

"It's Christmas! Get out of bed you lazy arses!" he yelled at the half-asleep boys. Grudgingly they all sat up in their beds, glaring at the grinning James.

Suddenly Wormtail cried, "Presents!" Until then James had been too busy sceaming to notice the mound of presents at the foot of his bed. He attacked it at once, tearing open parcel after parcel.

His parents had sent him a large box of home-made goodies, in fact each of the Marauders along with Frank had received a parcel from James' parents. His father had also sent him a beautiful pure gold watch which was extremely precious, priceless in fact, since it was a family heirloom. James couldn't believe his eyes, it was his fathers most prized possession. He felt his eyes stinging with tears that threatened to fall but blinked them back, not wanting anyone seeing him crying. James always pretend nothing was wrong when he was in a crisis which was one of the major reasons why he was so well liked.

Moony being Moony had got him a book but a rather interesting one on Quidditch which included several techniques and tactics. Padfoot had given him a black muggle leather jacket similar to one he owned himself. Wormtail had given him Zonko's products which James planned on using very soon. Frank had got him some sweets from Honeydukes including James' favourite Sugar Quills.

Frank wasn't the only one who had given him sweets and chocolates. James' had received uncountable boxes of chocolates and Cauldron Cakes from majority of the female population at hogwarts, most of them he didn't even know.

James looked over to Sirius and saw that he had received an even larger pile of chocolates than James had from his fan-girls.

"Does anyone know who Judy Lace is?" Remus asked from his bed.

"No, but don't eat anything from any of those crazy women. Remember what happened in third year?" he asked the others darkly.

"Who could forget that?" asked Moony smiling. "Wormy became obssessed with Maria Sheldon from Hufflepuff."

It was true. Every Christmas and Valentines Day the Marauders (even Peter) would get chocolates or Pumkin Pasties drugged with strong Love Potions. In their third year, a box of sweets from Sirius' pile of presents on Christmas and after consuming them he fell in love with Maria. The other Marauders let him stalk her for a couple of hours, to amuse themselves as well as horrifying Maria before taking poor Peter to the Hospital Wing.

The Marauders weren't only loved because of their looks. People loved them because they made the monotonous school life exciting, they made others laugh (Slytherins not included). It was like breathing to them. They could be mean once in a while and they would even get their fare share of detentions for that (provided they got caught, they were extremely professional). What mattered was that when things got heavy or when people were low they'd come up with ways to ease everyone out.

James looked at his friends and smiled. He loved each of them even when Moony was nagging, Sirius was annoying and Peter was slow, both physically and mentally. He loved them more than everything on earth, come what may.

"What's wrong, Prongsie?" Sirius asked, waving his hand in front of James' face, snapping him out of his trance.

James smiled at his best mate cockily and replied,"You." With an outraged look Sirius tackled James to the floor. Peter and Frank watched excitedly while Remus just wore a slighty amused expression on his face.

After rolling on the floor for a good five minutes, both the black haired boys lay there panting. Once they had regained their breath, they got dressed and went down to breakfast. James wore they leather jacket Sirius had given and he could tell he was pleased that James had liked his presnt so much.

James loved Christmas, and he would try and make this one memorable.


	17. Christmas: Part 2

AN: Hello everyone! I felt that this chapter was too short and I also wanted to write a little bit more of Lily's POV so I've extended it. For those who have read the first half, you can scroll down till where you've read. Since I'm only uploading half a chapter now, I'll get a fresh one out by tonight. Sorry if this has caused anyone any inconvenience. Thanks for reading and please review!

On Christmas morning, Lily was woken up by Alice. She groaned, not wanting to leave the warmth of her bed.

"Why are you waking me up so early?" the red head complained, rubbing her eyes. Alice was already waking up Marlene who gave Alice a death glare and went back to sleep.

"Because it's Christmas!" she replied excitedly. Lily looked at the foot of her bed and there were several neatly wrapped presents lying there as expected.

Lily loved Christmas, she always had. It was her favourite time of the year. Once Mary and Marlene were awake each of them opened one present at a time.

"It's beautiful Lils!" Mary squeeled, holding up the fluffly white scarf Lily had given her. Lily had given Marlene A broomstick maintenance kit along with other basic Quidditch equipment like a new pair of gloves. She had given Alice a really pretty pair of sandals which would go with anything she wore. Lily could tell that her friends had liked their gifts because they were positively beaming at her.

Lily's mother had sent her a baby pink cardigan which looked very expensive. Marlene gifted her a green top which matched the colour of her eyes. Mary had bought her the most adorable pair of bunny slippers which fit Lily perfectly. Sev had got her lily flower which glowed every time she touched it, it was beautiful magic. Lily loved all her presents but her favourite one had to be what Alice gave her. It was a small gold locket which had a small picture of the four girls inside it. They were standing together, laughing at some long forgotten joke. They looked much younger and Lily could tell that it had probably been taken in their first year. Lily smiled to herself. Her friends were the most precious to her, she loved them more than life itself. Lily fastened the locket around her neck, feeling the cold metal against her skin.

They got dressed and went down for breakfast, anticipating the brilliant meal they were about to have. As they made their way to the hall, Lily looked at all the decorations in awe. Although she had been a part of the wizarding world for a while, Lily always felt that it was ...magical! She knew that sounded ridiculous but couldn't help feel that way.

When they entered the hall, they took their usual seats at the Gryffindor table. Lily scanned the hall for Severus wanting to thank him for his gift abd she nticed that the hall was not very full. Apparently a lot of the students had gone home for Christmas.

Lily looked around at the Gryffindor table and her eyes fell on Potter. He was wearing a black leather jacket and was laughing at something Peter had done but Lily couldn't tell what. Just then he looked up and their eyes met. He grinned at her, running a hand through his messy black hair, making it even more untidy. Lily rolled her eyes at him, He thinks he's so great but he's just an attention seeking git.

Lily was having a great time talking animatedly with her friends while feasting on everything she could lay her hands on. Just when she thought her day was going great, a loud BANG came from the other end of the hall. She looked over at the Slytherin table which was covered with smoke.

Once the fumes had cleared, she saw that the all the Slytherins were blowing up like balloons and turning the brightest shade of red. Slowly some of them began to float up to the ceiling where they bobbed up and down. The hall was silent and then suddenly it erupted with laughter. Lily spun around to where the Marauders sat. Sure enough they were howling with laughter at the expression on the Slytherins faces, clutching their sides as they did so.

Lily felt her blood boil. She marched over to them and glared at their smiling faces.

"What did you do?" she demanded. They were laughing too hard to answer her. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared even more menacingly. They finally stopped laughing although the smiles still lingered on their lips.

Potter was the first to answer,"Hey Evans!" Lily turned on him.

"What makes you think you can mistreat innocent students like that?" she seethed.

"Innocent? Their hardly innocent! All they do is hex anyone who isn't in their house," he retorted.

"Are you any different?" she was reaching her boiling point. "Honestly Potter. You're an insolant pig and you deserved to be hung upside down from the Astronomy Tower!"

"No need for that, . I'm sure a months worth detention will suffice," came a stern voice from behind Lily. She spun around and had never been so glad to see Professor McGonagall standing there surveying the boys.

Lily stomped out of the hall not noticing the students who were still hovering a good fifteen feet in the air against the cloudy ceiling which reflected the weather outside. She went up to Gryffindor Tower cursing the Marauders the entire way.

She entered her dorm and was going to fall flat on her bed when something caught her eye. She looked more carefully and saw a thin, long silver parcel lying almost hidden underneth her bed. Maybe she hadn't noticed it earlier.

She picked it up and read the note, Have a Happy Christmas Lily!, said the untidy scrawl. It wasn't signed but Lily didn't need a name to know who it was from, she could recognise that handwriting anywhere. Lily was unsure whether she should open the parcel or not but in the end her curiosity got the better of her.

She ripped open the parcel and opened the black box that she found inside. There lay a delicate and beautiful silver bracelet. It was very simple and elegant, just what Lily liked.

James Potter had presented Lily with one of the most wonderful presents (for a change) and Lily for once did not know how to react.

AN: Hope you guys liked it and I hope this change did not cause anyone any inconvenience. Like I said there should be another chapter out by tonight. Thank you for reading and please review!


	18. OWL's

AN: So here's the update as promised! Just to avoid confusion, this is James' POV. Thanks for reading and please review!

Months passed and James' O.W.L.'s drew nearer. Gryffindor had managed to win the Quidditch cup. James had nicked a snitch from the school set and he loved showing off his chaser skills with it.

The fifth years had managed to survive most of their examinations, only Defance Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration left. James wasn't worried abot them because he was sure he'd ace them. He had always been a natural at Defence but when he was training to become an animagus to help Moony he had greatly improved in Transfiguration as well.

It was the day of their Defence examination and he wasn't the least bit nervous. When he entered the hall for breakfast it was devoid of any fifth years, who were probably cramming in some last minute revision.

When they returned to the hall for the examination, the four house tables were gone and were replaced with several smaller tables. They had all been assigned seats and they took their places. James took out his quill and ink pot, waiting for the test to begin.

As he read the paper he felt a smile gracing his lips. He knew all the answers and was confident that he would get an Outstanding. He wrote his paper with ease very happy with himself.

Sunshine was streaming through the high windows on to the bent heads, which shone chestnut and copper and gold in the bright light.

"Five more minutes!" a Professor Flitwick called passing James' table. He was straightening up now, putting down his quill, pulling his roll of parchment towards him so as to reread what he had written. James yawned hugely and rumpled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Then, with a glance towards Professor Flitwick, he turned in his seat and grinned at Sirius who was sitting four seats behind him. Sirius was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs his dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance which James' could never achieve.

James noticed that the girl sitting behind Sirius was eyeing him hopefully although Sirius seemed absolutely oblivious to this. James looked over to Moony who looked rather pale and peaky and was absorbed in the exam: as he reread his answers, he scratched his chin with the end of his quill, frowning slightly. A little distance away James saw that Wormtail looked anxious; he was chewing his fingernails, staring down at his paper, scuffing the ground with his toes. Every now and then he glanced hopefully at his neighbour's paper.

James turned back to the front and pulled out a spare piece of parchment. He began drawing a golden snitch on it. Once the snitch was done he traced 'L.E' on it. He thought about Evans. She hadn't spoken to him for a while and always ignored him when he tried to start a conversation. He had hoped his obsession over her would fade with time but it had become anything but weaker. His feelings towards her were getting deeper and James wasn't used to this.

"Quills down please!' squeaked Professor Flitwick. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

Over a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backwards off his feet. Several people laughed. A couple of students at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows and lifted him back onto his feet.

"Thank you, thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!" James hastily crossed out the 'L.E.' he had been embellishing, jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam paper into his bag, which he slung over his back, and stood waiting for Sirius to join him.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius, as they emerged into the Entrance Hall.

"Loved it," said Lupin briskly. "Give five signs that identify the werewolf. Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.

"Think I did," said Lupin seriously, as they joined the crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin."

Wormtail was the only one who didn't laugh.

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail," he said anxiously, "But I couldn't think what else -"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run around with a werewolf once a month -"

"Keep your voice down," implored Lupin. James just rolled his eyes at him.

"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," he heard Sirius say. "I'll be surprised if I don't get 'Outstanding' on it at least."

"Me too," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away before seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Wormtail watched him in awe.

They stopped in the shade of the very same beech tree on the edge of the lake They stopped in the shade of the very same beech tree on the edge of the lake. The sunlight was dazzling on the smooth surface of the lake, on the bank of which the group of laughing girls who had just left the Great Hall were sitting, with their shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water.

Moony had pulled out a book and was reading. Padfot stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored, but very handsomely so. James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom further and further away, almost escaping but always grabbed it at the last second. Wormtail was watching him with his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Wormtail gasped and applauded.

"Put that away, will you," said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Wormtail let out a cheer, "Before Wormtail wets himself with excitement."

Wormtail turned slightly pink, but James grinned.

"If it bothers you," he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.

"I'm bored' said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon."

"You might," said Lupin darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me. Here" and he held out his book.

But Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly. "Look who it is."

Sirius's head turned. He became very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.

"Excellent," he said softly. "Snivellus."

Snape was on his feet and was stowing the OWL paper in his bag. As he left the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up.

Moony and Wormtail remained sitting: Moony was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows; Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.

"All right Snivellus?" said James loudly.

Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack: dropping his bag, he plunged his hand inside his robes and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Snape's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Impedimenta!" he said, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had got to their feet and were edging nearer. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.

Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands raised. Wormtail was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Lupin to get a clearer view.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

Wormtail sniggered shrilly. Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

:You - wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing, "You - wait!"

"Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Snape let out a scream of mixed swear words and hexes, but with his wand ten feet away nothing happened.

"'Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "Scourgify!"

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him -

"Leave him ALONE!" shouted a voice from behind them.

James and Sirius looked round. James's free hand immediately jumped to his hair. Standing behind them was a very angry looking Lily Evans.

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean."

Many of the surrounding students laughed, Sirius and Wormtail included, but Lupin, still apparently intent on his book, didn't, and nor did Lily.

"You think you're funny," she said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on, go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Behind him, the Impediment Jinx was wearing off. Snape was beginning to inch towards his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds as he crawled.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, and turned back to Snape. "OI!"

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. James whirled about: a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside-down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of greying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd cheered; Sirius, James and Wormtail roared with laughter.

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James and he jerked his wand upwards; Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "Petrificus Totalus!" and Snape kneeled over again, rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," said James earnestly although he had no intention of doing so.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed deeply, then turned to Snape and muttered the counter-curse.

"There you go," he said, as Snape struggled to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus -"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"


	19. Being A Muggleborn

**AN: I know this upload took time and I apologise. My internet connection was down and it still isn't working properly. Thank you for reading and please review!**

Lily blinked. She didn't want to trust her ears but his words echoed inside her head and she felt her stomach drop. She felt tears stinging her eyes but the pain she was feeling was instantly replaced with anger and hatred. She arranged her face into a calm expression and looked at the boy she once called her best friend.

"Fine," she said coolly. "I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus." Until then Lily hadn't realised how quiet everyone was. The whole school knew that Lily and Severus were best friends although none of them understood why or even how.

"APOLOGISE TO EVANS!" Potter roared at Snape, his wand pointing threateningly at him. Lily began losing control.

"I don't want you to make him apologise!" she shouted at Potter, rounding on him. "You're as bad as he is."

"What?" yelped Potter. "I'd NEVER call you a you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing everyone who annoys you just because you can- I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

Lily felt the tears which had once subsided threatening to spill. She turned on her heel and hurried away. She heard Potter calling after her but she didn't look back. She ran until she was panting and was completely out of breath. She found shelter behind Green House number three.

She leaned against the wall and sunk to the ground, hugging her knees to her chest. She sobbed her eyes out and didn't even realise when the sun had set. She didn't look up until she heard a small voice from behind her.

"Lily?" came Alice's voice softly. She sat down beside Lily and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She tried to comfort her but Lily wasn't listening to her. The events that had taken place earlier that day kept replaying in her head. Sev's words haunted her, they probably always would, reminding her of the inferior position she held in the wizarding world.

The two friends sat in the darkness for a while after which Alice led Lily up to Gryffindor Tower. Lily noticed that the common room was mostly empty so it must have been pretty late. She felt some movement to her right but didn't look up, letting her red hair shield her from everyone elses prying eyes.

She went up to her dorm and curled up in her bed. She wasn't crying anymore but she just felt this emptiness inside her and it seemed to be swallowing her. She wasn't sure what made her most upset; the fact that she had lost her best friend or that she knew that the awful things she had said to Potter weren't true.

**AN: MUST READ. Very important.**

**I need everyones opinion about what I should write after their fifth year. I could skip to their seventh year when they actually get together or I could write about their sixth year and then their seventh. I'm not too keen on writing their sixth year because it will be more of a filler and it might get boring. But at the same time if I skip an entire year I'm worried that it might become awkward. Thank you for reading this and PLEASE let me know what you think. you could write a review or send me a PM but I really need your help.**


	20. Guilt Ridden

**AN: Hey guys! Thanks a lot for your help, I now know how I should go about it. Thank you for reading and PLEASE review (it really makes my day).**

James felt awful about what he had done. He had always hated and envied Snivelly. The most popular boy in school was jealous of one of the least liked or least known boys in school. James was jealous of that grease-ball and he didn't like it a bit. He hated how Snivelly was best friends with someone as wonderful as her, he hated that she would look at him with a kind face and when she looked at James, her eyes held nothing but loathing. But most of all, James was disturbed by the fact that she would always choose that sodding git over him.

Although he had managed to humiliate him in front of several students, he had also broken the heart of the one girl he had ever liked. Sure there had been others, but he had never felt this strongly towards any of them. They had been there for fun, never too serious and if they got clingy he would simply move on. This time it was different. No matter how hard he tried, every time he closed his eyes he would see her smiling face. It was like a picture of the beautiful red-head was plastered to his eyelids.

That evening he had tried to talk to Lily to make things right when she was brought up by Alice, but Alice didn't even let him near her. Guilt was eating him up from the inside and he began feeling hollow to the extent that he didn't even want to attend the party in the common room the next day where everyone would be celebrating the end of the examinations.

He was set on taking revenge from Snivellus. How dare that slimy insolent brat insult some one? He tried formulating many plans with the other Marauders but he wasn't sure whether he should pull them off or not. Moony insisted that if he took revenge on Snape, he would make things worse and that would make Lily even more mad than she already was (as if that was possible).

Finally they came up with the cleverest idea.

"What if we threaten him, and just don't do anything?" asked Moony one lazy afternoon.

"What? How is that going to work?" asked James, obviously very confused.

"We could threaten him, pretend that we're going to attack very soon and just never do anything. That way, we'll have him on his toes for the remaining of the term and hopefully even till next year. The coward that he is, he'll do anything to save himself. It'll drive him crazy knowing that we are going to strike and he'll keep waiting but nothing will ever happen," explained Moony. "We'll manage to get our revenge on him and we won't even make Lily mad."

Sirius' face lit up as he processed the brilliance of Moony's plan. He jumped up and kissed him on the head.

"You're brilliant!" he said, voicing his thoughts as Remus began wiping his head furiously. James felt his mouth curve into his famous smirk, something he hadn't felt for the last couple of days.

Later that day they planted a note in Snape's bag and watched the fun unfold. Everytime they saw him after that, he seemed very edgy and he jumped at the slightest of sounds. Dark circles were forming under his eyes and he looked extremely tired. What was even better was that every time he saw the marauders approaching, he would immediately turn and walk as fast as he could in the other direction and would than vanish from sight.


	21. Too Late To Apologise

AN: Hey everyone! I know I haven't uploaded for a week and I'm sorry. I had this really important test (not school) I had to prepare for and after that I was out of town for it.

Severus tried to apologise to Lily at least once every hour in the following days but Alice, Mary and Marlene always made sure that he never got too close to her.

The evening before the end-of-term Mary entered their dormitory looking highly disgusted.

"He's out there right now," she told the others. "The stupid git says he'll sleep there if he has to." Lily stood up and the others tried to stop her.

"You can't be serious," Marlene said, her eyes wide.

"I have to. I need to cut it off." And without another word, she turned and climbed down the stairs and went towards the portrait hole. She ignored Potter's calls on her way out.

As she stepped out into the warm corridor she saw Severus looking up and she folded her arms.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out.

"I'm not interested."

"I'm sorry!"

"Save your breath. I only came because Mary told me you were threatening to sleep here."

"I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you a Mudblood, it just-"

"Slipped out?" Lily said without any pitty in her voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends- you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?"

He opened his mouth but closed it, without speaking.

"I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way. I've chosen mine."

"No- listen- I didn't mean-"

"To call me a Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?"

He struggled on the verge of speech, but with a contemptuous look she turned and climbed back through the portrait hole.

At breakfast the next morning Lily could feel Severus' eyes on her even though her back was towards him. She ate in silence and hurried up to finish some last minute packing.

Lily had mixed feelings about leaving Hogwarts and going home and with those muddled up emotions she boarded the train.


	22. Term Break: Part 1

**AN: Hello everyone! Please give me any suggestions that you have, they really help. Thank you for reading and please review!**

James was bored. He had been back home for only a week and he missed Hogwarts already. His mood would be considerably uplifted since Padfoot was coming over to stay with him for the next four weeks of the term break. James' parents wouldn't mind, in fact they quite liked having Sirius around; he was like their second son.

James sat at the table eating some toast while reading a Quidditch magazine when he heard some noises from the adjacent living room. It could only mean one thing. He hurried into the living room just in time to see Sirius climbing out of the fireplace. Apparently he had used the Floo Network this time. James roard with delight at the sight of him.

Sirius left his luggage in the living room and he followed James out the the backyard where Mrs. Potter was tending to some of her flowers.

"Mom, Sirius is here!" ames called out when the were close enought. Mrs. Potter looked up to see her two favourite boys. Her hazel eyes taking in Sirius. James had inherited her eyes but at the same time his father's bad eyesight.

"Hey Mrs. Potter!" Sirius greeted.

"Sirius," she said warmly. "So glad you could join us. James' father will be back early from the Ministry today, we'll have time to catch up then." After a short pause she continued," Don't just stand there. Come here and give me a hand." So for the rest of the afternoon they helped Mrs. Potter in her gardening and even de-gnomed the garden. James wondered what his fellow students would think if they saw him watering plants with his mother.

When Sirius and James came back in exhausted it was already time for tea. James' house elf Wanda had prepared a ton of cakes and finger food including James' favourite Lemon Tarts. It was a muggle dessert which James had had when he was much younger when his mother had taken him around muggle London. That day he had been to the zoo, a muggle book shop and had even used the subway.

The two teenagers ate hungrily after which they went up to James' bedroom. Sirius' luggage was already there and there was even an extra bed laid out for him. They whiled away their time doing absolutely nothing till Mr. Potter returned home.

At the sound of him calling them Sirius and James bounded down the stairs to meet him. Mr. Potter looked like an older version of James. He had the same messy black hair and round glasses. His mannerisms were also the same; ruffling his hair unconciously, putting on that famous lop-sided grin when he was amused.

"Good evening Mr. Potter," Sirius grinned.

"Ah, Sirius m' boy!" He said happily. "James had told us you'd be coming. Not annoying you I hope," he winked.

"Not at all, sir. He's been on his best behaviour," Sirius' grin became wider. Whenever Sirius came over James' father joined forces with him to pull James' leg, but James knew it was all in good nature so he didn't mind. He was actually glad that they got on so well.

After dinner they all chatted for a while, Wanda included. James was enjoying the company of his parents and his best mate and felt completely content with how things were.


	23. Term Break: Part 2

AN: Hello to all my fellow Harry Potter enthusiasts! I have spell checked all the previous chapters and I promise to spell check future ones before uploading. Thank you for reading and I'm not saying I won't upload unless I get reviews, I love writing this story and I won't stop (until it ends). I'm saying that reviews really encourage me and I tend to upload faster. So please review; it makes us happy!

Lily hadn't left the house ever since she had got back from Hogwarts. Almost every part of the neighbourhood held memories of hers and Snapes friendship and it was too painful to think about them again. Lily was getting over their fall out and she didn't want anything ruining that.

Lily ignored Petunia who was ignoring her back. She was used to this kind of treatment from her sister; she had been receiving it for the past four years. She stayed in the confines of her room and only left it for her meals. She wrote to all her friends regularly and was just counting down to when they were going to meet. They had planned to go shopping for their school supplies together.

By the third week of the term break, Lily was much happier than she had been in a while. She would lounge in the back yard with a book, just soaking up the sun, enjoying the feel of the warmth on her skin.

Lily heard some sounds coming from some distance. She looked up to see an owl flying towards her, carrying a letter in its beak. Dread filled her stomach. She knew what the contents of the letter were. She waited patiently for the bird to reach her. It landed softly on the chair beside hers, dropping the letter there. Lily carried the barn owl to the little bird bath and gave it some water after which it took flight again.

Lily watched the bird fly away, wondering what it would be like to be able to soar like that; Lily had always been too afraid to fly on a broom. For those blissful moments Lily had temporarily forgotten about the letter that lay on the garden chair.

Snapping out of her reverie she snatched up the letter and went inside through the back door. She took a deep breath before tearing it open. She completely ignored the first two parchments and went directly for the third.

FIFTH YEAR O.W.L. RESULTS

Name: Lily Evans

SUBJECT RESULTS

Arithmancy O

Astronomy O

Charms O

Care of Magical Creatures O

Defence Against the Dark Arts O

Herbology O

History of Magic E

Potions O

Transfiguration E

Lily couldn't believe her eyes. She knew she had done well but she never I her wildest dreams did she imagine that she would get seven Oustandings. She her chest swell up with happiness. She couldn't help but do a little jig around the kitchen table before she stormed into the living room, where she knew her mother was sitting.

"My results just came in," she said excitedly. Her mother looked up at her daughters grinning face.

"And by the look on your face I'm going to guess that you've done well," said her mother warmly to her younger child. She stood up from the couch and walked to Lily. Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"I got SEVEN outstandings!" she cried out in joy, hugging her mother fiercely. "I'm going to write to Alice," she squeeled before running up the stairs to her room, leaving her mother beaming with pride after her.


	24. Chapter 24

AN: Hey everyone! So Lily's received her O.W.L. results now its James and Sirius. How do you think they're going to do? And as always, thanks for reading and please review.

James was awoken by a persistent tapping noise. He groaned and rolled over to face the source of this disturbance when he saw a tawny owl perched on his window sill. Knowing instantly what it was, he grabbed his glasses and shot out of bed.

Opening the window, he took the two letters from the birds beak and watched it fly away. James looked at the two letters in his hand and felt that his letter was slightly heavier than Sirius'.

Once Sirius was sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes with one hand while clutching the letter in the other, they decided to open them together. James tore open the seal and poured out the contents of the envelope onto his bed. There were four pieces of parchment along with something metallic. James looked down at the shiny badge, completely dumbfounded. He couldn't say that he hadn't been expecting it, he knew he would get it, just not this soon. It looked like a small shield covered in scarlet as the Gryffindor colour and it had a gold snitch on it. He picked it up, sheer joy filling each ounce of his body.

"I got it!" he yelled at Sirius happiness practically oozing out of his pores.

"Got what? Why you're such a prick?" Sirius joked.

"Show some respect or I'll throw you off the team," James stuck his tongue out at his mate. Sirius gave him a confused look which changed from shock to delight. Sirius leapt out of his bed and thumped James on his back while admiring the badge in his hand. James went to re-read the letter and he remembered that he had also received his O.W.L. results.

He set his badge down carefully on his bedside table and picked up the other piece of parchment. He unfolded it and read the contents slowly and carefully. As he read, he felt a smile spread over his face which grew even wider as he neared the end.

FIFTH YEAR O.W.L. RESULTS

Name: James Potter

SUBJECT RESULTS

Astronomy E

Charms O

Care of Magical Creatures O

Defence Against the Dark Arts O

Divination O

Herbology O

History of Magic E

Potions A

Transfiguration O

James felt ready to burst with joy. This had to be the best day of his life. He raised his head to look at Sirius and saw him smirking slightly. Sirius held out his parchment to James wasn't surprised to see that their marks were identical.

"Lets writeto Moony,"Sirius suggested."I'm pretty sure he's beating himself up for that one 'O' he missed."

"Yeah." James agreed. "And we'll even fix up a date for Diagon Alley." James brought out a quill, an inkpot and some spare parchment. He couldn't wait till his parents came back home to give them the good news. They were going to be so proud.

The rest of the day was spent playing one on one Quidditch with Sirius and planning out new strategies for their upcoming year.

"We're going to show Slytherin who's boss," James said with an evil grin after they had worked out quite a winner.

That evening they received a reply to their letter from Remus.

To James and Sirius,

You guys have done very well! I'm honestly surprised since you never followed any of the study schedules that I gave you.(not that I ever expected you to) I myself just missed an Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures. Its not my fault that i can't bear salamders. Thursday after next is fine by me for Diagon Alley. See you then!

PS: Congratulations on becoming Captain James.

From Moony.

When Mr. and Mrs. Potter returned home that evening they couldnt be more pleased. Both their boys had done brilliantly and as the cherry on top James had become Quidditch captain, which made everything seem so much nicer. Mr. Potter was beaming with pride when James showed him his shiny new badge.

"I'm glad that you are carrying on the family legacy," he said ruffling his sons hair. Mrs. Potter along with Wanda had cooked the most magnificent feast for the family, it could rival the opening feast at Hogwarts.

Once he was fed and watered, James began feeling drowsy. He retired to his room early and lay on his bed in the darkness wondering what Lily Evans was doing at that moment. He had tried to stop thinking about her but all in vain. The more he tried, the more he saw her smiling face, and the more he heard her laughter which was the sweetest sound to ever grace his ears. As much as he wanted not to, she was the only thing he ever thought about.

Somewhere in between his daydreams he drifted off into sound sleep where all he saw was Lily in his arms smiling up at him.

**AN: Please suggest some names for this chapter, I couldn't think of a nice one. Hope you guys liked it!**


	25. Diagon Alley: Part 1

AN: Hey everyone! So my school has already re-opened and it is crazier than ever. I'm positive that my brain is going to burst. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!

Lily dusted her clothes as she climbed out of the fireplace. The bustling street she was facing was a complete contrast to the cosy living room she had just left. A few moments later she was joined by Alice. The two girls walked around Diagon Alley, craning their necks in search of their friends, but what Lily saw couldn't be further from that.

She watched as Potter and Black strutted through the street as if they owned the place and Remus was walking beside them, a little more composed. All three had massive grins plastered on their faces. They were heading her way and Lily was in no mood for any confrontations.

She grabbed Alice's hand and spun around, dragging the poor girl behind her. Lily ducked into the closest shop, which turned out to be Quality Quidditch Supplies. Lily cursed. This would be the first shop those mutton-heads would go to! It was really crowded inside and there wasn't much room to move.

She turned back to the door, wanting to get out of there before the Marauder's came. To her horror, James Potter was already on the doorstep. Luckily, he hadn't seen her yet since he was still on the other side of the glass. Instinctively Lily ducked, Alice following her lead.

She heard a little bell tinkling as as the door was pushed open, followed by the sound of Potter laughing. He always seemed so happy. He didn't work hard yet most of the teachers liked him, he made fun of or played pranks on the students yet they adored him. He was a spoilt brat with rich parents who was used to getting everything he wanted on a silver platter. Lily was surprised that he didn't bring his house elf along with him.

The two girls skirted around the groups of witches and wizards who were marvelling at the brooms, narrowly avoiding collision with them. They didn't stop until they were in the safety of the shadows and Lily was sure that they were concealed.

"Lily! Will you tell me what's going on?" Alice nearly screeched, obviously not liking the way she had just been man-handled.

"Shh!" Lily shushed her, afraid of attracting any attention. "The Marauder's are here," she stated as if that explained everything and began looking around for an escape route.

"And since when are you so afraid of them?" Alice asked incredulously. Lily wasn't paying her any attention. She shot towards the door of the shop, pulling Alice as she went and suddenly she felt herself bang face first into something hard and toppled over. She fell face down but the fall wasn't as hard as she expected it to be. She felt something heavy land on her back and vaguely heard Alice moan.

Lily just lay there for a few moments, trying to gather what had just happened. Lily was actually quite comfortable there and probably would've just lay there on the floor for a while when it began to move.

EARTHQUAKE! was the first thought that flashed in Lily's mind. But she began doubting the possibilities of a natural calamity when the floor began groaning a very human groan.

She looked down and found herself staring deeply into a gorgeous pair of hazel eyes, completely stunned.

AN: Hope you like it and I will try and update a little sooner. Please leave a review!


	26. Diagon Alley: Part 2

AN: Hey everyone! Thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favourite story list. This chapter is dedicated to all of you. You have no idea how happy you've made me and honestly I was never going to upload this story ever because I wasn't sure if people would like it. So thank you once again! And another thank you to everyone who's reading it. Please review!

James and Sirius used the Floo Network to get to Diagon Alley on Thursday to meet up with Remus as planned. Peter wouldn't be able to join them because his mother was sick and he had to look after her. They walked down the street, cracking jokes all the way. The morning was going well.

"I need a new broom clipper," James announced, steering the group in the direction of his favourite shop.

"Don't you have one?" questioned Remus

"I did. Until Padfooot here crushed it to death," James said looking a little annoyed.

"It bit me!" Sirius defended himself. James had charmed some of his stuff to attack people who tried to use his things without his consent.

"I'm not even going to ask," Remus said shaking his head making James chuckle as he pushed open the door to Quality Quidditch Supplies. They stood admiring some of the brooms on display and even Remus was a little intriuged by the new techniques that were being used to improve the brooms.

Just as James moved to get the clipper he was knocked to the ground by a flash of red. He fell on his back, hitting his head on the hard wooden floor. He lay there for a bit, unable to move or register what had just happened. He groaned with pain and tried to get up but he was pinned to the ground. Was he paralyzed?

He opened his eyes and what he saw was least expected. Lily Evans was lying on his chest, staring at him in complete shock. He gazed into her almond shaped, emerald green eyes, forgetting for those few moments where he was. He grinned at her, thoroughly enjoying himself, turning her shocked expression into a scowl. She scrambled to get up but flopped back down, causing James to grunt. He looked slightly to his left and saw Alice crawling off Lily. Remus hurried over to help her up. As soon as Alice was off her, Lily rolled off James and knelt beside him.

"Really can't stay away, can you?" James grinned at Lily, sitting up slowly.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologised. "Are you alright?" she asked, completely ignoring his earlier comment.

"I'm fine," he said trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. "What were you trying to do anyway?" he enquired and Lily went red. She mumbled something inaudible in reply and stood up hastily, James doing the same.

"I'm really sorry," she apologised again and began moving towards the door.

"Hey Evans!" James called out to her. "Want to get some ice cream?"

"I'm really not in the mood right now Potter."

"Aww come on! It's the least you can do, seeing as you just tackled me to the floor without any reason."

"I think I'll pass," she tried steering Alice towards the exit but Alice refused to budge.

"That's a great idea!" she exclaimed happily. James saw Lily give her a threatening look, which Alice didn't pay attention to. James smiled at her gratefully and she replied with a nod, an understanding passing between them.

They left the shop after James paid for his broom clipper and went to Fortescue's for sundaes which James didn't allow the girls to pay for. The lot of them chatted together and after a bit Lily loosened up as well. James could've sworn he saw a hint of a smile on her face whenever he would crack a joke. She seemed more comfortable with the Marauders that day than James had ever seen her.

Maybe, just maybe, someday Lily would stop hating him and see his nice side.

AN: Hope you guys liked it! I was suffering from major writer's block while typing this. Please review! Also I still haven't been able to come up with a name for chapter 24 so please suggest a title.


	27. How to tease a Potter: Part 1

**AN: Hey guys! I'm going to make their sixth year as brief as possible and I hope that no one has a problem with that. In this chapter Lily and James have reached the castle and are at the start of the new term. If anyone has ANY inputs, any at all, please do tell me in a review or a PM; they really help. And as always, please review!**

Lily loved sixth year. There was half as much the study pressure on her as she had last year AND they got a load of free periods. Although Lily had a lot of time to spare it wasn't always a blessing, it meant that she had time to think and somehow her thoughts would always end up in the same place; her broken friendship with Sev. And just like that the wall she had built around her would come crumbling down. It took all her effort not to succumb to her grief and go into a shell.

It was difficult for Lily to avoid Sev because they had most of their classes together. No matter what she didn't even look at him let alone make any kind of contact. She would just pretend as if he had seized to exist in her world. Even the professors knew that something had happened between the two because earlier they were always sitting together and now they had never seen any of them this separated from the other.

"Ms Evans, I would like a word with you," Professor McGonagall called out at the end of one of her Transfiguration lessons. Lily told her friends to carry on without her which none of them were ready to do. The three girls had taken it upon themselves to accompany Lily everywhere she went in order to protect her from Snape.

"Yes Professor?" Lily asked politely once she had reached the older witch's desk.

"Is there anything on your mind, dear?" asked McGonagall with kindness that Lily had never seen before.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Professor, "Lily replied.

"Are you sure?" McGonagall asked and when Lily nodded she sighed. "Well if there's anything that's bothering you, I'm always there to help you with it. Although I am not supposed to say this, you are one of my favourite students, Lily and I hate to see you struggle," she said with genuine maternal concern and Lily felt a sudden surge of fondness for the old lady.

A few weeks into school, Lily was sitting in the Great Hall with Mary and Marlene when Johnathan Abbot from Hufflepuff walked up to her.

"Hey Lily!" he smiled at her, looking a little nervous.

"Hey Johnathan," she smiled back. "Why do you look so scared?" she wondered aloud.

"Um..." he stuttered. "There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me," he said in a hurry. "I'd understand if you don't want to," he added quickly, making Lily smile.

"I'd love to," she said sweetly and watched as his face lit up.

"Are you serious?" he asked a little surprised. Lily laughed at that and nodded her head.

"Meet me by the front doors at eleven?" she asked as if to confirm their date.

"Sounds good! See you then," he replied happily, grinning like an idiot. Lily's eyes shot over to where Potter sat and she saw him watching them intently, his expression stony. Lily stood up, turning her attention back to Johnathan and gave him a small peck on the cheek. She watched as both boys went red in the face, one with joy the other with rage. Potter looked ready to kill.

This was going to be so much fun.


	28. The Date

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update but I've been really busy with school work and even now I'm typing this with a terrible cold and sore throat. The only good that has come of it is that i didn't have to attend school today! Anyway thanks for reading and please review!**

James saw Lily speaking to Johnathan Abbot, the Hufflepuff boy in their year. James had never paid much attention to him but he had only heard good things about Johnathan. He watched her smile at the other boy and he could've sworn that she looked at him just for a split second before, to James' absolute horror, standing up and kissing the bloody idiot on the cheek.

James felt himself go red in the face and could actually feel the anger coursing through his veins. Immediately he developed a strong hatred towards the innocent Hufflepuff who had meant absolutely nothing to him only moments earlier. James found it very hard to stop himself from attacking the blue eyed boy but he knew he had to restrain himself otherwise he would be facing a month's worth detention for assaulting a student. Being in detention would also cause him to lose precious time. Precious time which could be spent causing Johnathan more harm than a few bruises could.

On the day of the Hogsmeade trip James along with Sirius (Remus had chosen to stay back and help Peter with his homework) stalked Lily and Johnathan from under James' invisibility cloak. They had to struggle a great deal to stop themselves from being exposed or else from tripping and falling down. They weren't as small as they once used to be.

They followed the couple into Honeydukes where Johnathan bought Lily a large bag of sweets after which they went to The Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer. Lily was laughing most of the time and she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. James grudgingly admitted that Johnathan was very efficient and was making their date run smoothly when he had an idea. With a flick of his wand, he made Johnathan's bottle pour all the Butterbeer on himself, making him jump up and start wiping his shirt with a napkin.

Lily looked around to find the source of the magic and her eyes lingered where James and Sirius sat invisible, but not being able to see the guilty she returned her attention to the blond boy before her. James sighed with relief, thanking his stars that he had carried his cloak.

"Are you okay?" he heard Lily ask.

"I'm fine," replied the boy, now sitting back down.

"Do you want to go back to the castle?"

"Alright," he heard Johnathan agree. The two went over to the counter and just as Johnathan was about to pay James flicked his wand for the second time, causing Johnathan to slip and fall on his bottom. James grinned and he could feel Sirius shaking with silent laughter next to him. Lily tried to help her date up but he just flopped to the ground again where he sat like an overgrown baby.

The two Marauder's were now shaking with silent fits of laughter and had to run to the door and onto the street to stop their cover from being blown Once in the street the howled with laughter to their hearts content and slowly began making their way up to the castle, letting Lily and Johnathan over take them before taking off the cloak.

"Did you see his face?" asked Sirius still grinning. He winked at a group of gigglng fifth years passing the boys who were eyeing him hungrily making them shriek with laughter.

"He didn't know what hit him!" James laughed. As they turned the corner to the Gryffindor common room, James saw a sight that made him want to kill somebody. Johnathan had his hands on Lily's hips and was leaning in to kiss her. James froze. He felt his insides go hollow and for a second he wished he was dead. When they drew apart Lily turned around and entered the common room and Johnathan walked away from there with a spring in his step. All traces of mirth had left James. This only meant one thing... War.

**AN: At first I wasn't going to let James perform magic in Hogsmeade because they aren't allowed t use magic outside Hogwarts under the age of seventeen but then I remembered that Harry had also cast a spell against Snape in Prisoner of Azkaban while they were in the Shrieking Shack so I went ahead with the idea. Please tell me if you have any suggestions or questions, you can leave a review or you can send me a PM and lastly, please review!**


	29. Chapter 29

**AN: Hey everyone! I've been VERY busy, very being an understatement. In fact I was so over worked I nearly fainted in school the other day. I know I said that their sixth year would be short but I got a lot of great ideas for it so I thought of making it as a bit of a filler. I would like to thank everyone who is reading this and I would also like to apologise for the irregular updates. I hope you like it and please review, it's really motivating.**

Lily was getting along surprisingly well with Johnathan who was very charming and sweet, a real gentleman. But Lily had to admit that she didn't really feel anything beyond friendship for the Hufflepuff. The only reason she carried on with the way things were was probably because it really seemed to annoy Potter, who had miraculously stopped asking her out. Indeed Lily did feel guilty about stringing Johnathan along, but the guilt she felt was nothing compared to the relief she experienced ever since Potter had started leaving her alone, and anyway she wasn't in a relationship with him... yet.

She no longer had to duck in the corridors or hide behind suits of armour just to avoid another annoying meeting with him. Another reason Lily still went out with Johnathan, although it was completely subconcious, was that everytime she saw Snape, he looked sad and almost a little broken, as if he actually cared about losing Lily. He had clearly shown Lily what was more important to him by chosing those horrible Slytherins who were ready to go over to the Dark Side over their friendship.

There had been a time when she was his only friend, when everyone made fun of him because of his shabby clothes, oily hair and his wiry built. But now all that seemed like a dream, as if it had never happened, like it was from another world where it was possible for him to be friends with someone like her. Lily still felt tears stinging her eyes whenever she thought of the heart breaking incident but she tried her hardest not to let it affect her and she did the best she could to push it to the back of her mind, not wanting to be weakened by something that didn't matter anymore.

"Lily, you do know that what you're doing is wrong?" Mary asked Lily with a disapproving look when they were lounging in the common room one evening.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked innocently although she knew exactly what Marry was referring to.

"You know what I'm talking about," Mary said pointedly with a look that made Lily feel bad about herself.

"It's only for a short while Mary!" she wined. "I promise I'll stop as soon as I'm sure that there's nothing between Johnathan and I."

"You're already sure that there's nothing there!" Mary said exasperatedly. "You told us yourself!" This was true. After her first kiss with Johnathan, Lily had confided in her friends that she felt absolutely nothing for him.

"I just want to be sure," Lily lied. Mary just sighed and shook her head, dropping the conversation for the moment. A first year walked up to Lily, looking nervous and said in the tiniest voice,"There's a boy outside who's asking for you," and as soon as the message had been delivered, the tiny girl scurried away from them.

"It's probably Johnathan," Lily told her friends as she got up to leave.

"Don't forget what we talked about!" Mary called after her as Lily climbed out of the portrait hole. Lily wasn't surprised to see Johnathan waiting for her outside. His blonde hair framed his face perfectly and his blue eyes twinkled at the sight of her. He wore an apprehensive expression on his face which reminded Lily of the time he had asked her out. He held out his hand without a word and Lily took it, letting him lead her away from there.

**AN: Hope you liked it! And please help me with what I should do. You can send me a PM or leave a review telling me what you would like to happen next, you're input is very valuable tpo me!**


	30. Ruining Dates

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongAN: Hey guys! My exams are just round the corner so posts will not be very frequent for a while. Thank you to everyone who is still reading this, I didn't think I'd get even a single reader for this story when I uploaded it. I just HAD to get a chapter up so here it is! Hope you guys like it and please review!/strong/p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"It was almost Halloween and The Marauders had come up with another one of their wonderful plans to bring in the festive mood. This time they were hiding around a corner with a very realistic and life sized stuffed monster, and whenever an unsuspecting first year came around the large toy would wander into sight and chase the poor soul till they cried.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"The monster they were setting after the kids was a Demiguise, a very peaceful herbivore, but none of the first years knew that yet. The last boy they had scared had wet his pants. James was laughing so hard that he had tears in his eyes. This was one of the better Halloween's he'd had. Moony, for a change, wasn't telling them off for the trick but was in fact helping them with it. He was probably happy with how smoothly the last Full Moon had gone.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"They were waiting for their next target and when they heard footsteps they set off the monster once again, probably for the ninth time that day. They heard a very girlish scream and when James peeped around the corner he saw a sight that was just the cherry on top of what had been a lovely day. Abbot was hiding behind Lily, holding her hand like a little child and Lily was smiling slightly looking at the monster.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"Lily caught sight of him and he jerked his head back, praying that she hadn't really seen him. Sirius and Peter were still snickering uncontrolably, obviously unaware of the couple in the other part of the corridor.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""POTTER!" he heard Lily shriek and he cursed under his breath. He walked towards her casually with his lop-sided smirk on his face but he could feel his insides squirming with fear.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""What do you think you are doing?" she demanded. "And what is that?" she asked looking at the Demiguise behind him.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""That? That's a Demiguise," he told her with a serious expression on his face.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I know what it is," she said, glaring at him. emObviously, emJames thought to himself. "I want to know what it's doing here."/p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""We were just having some fun," he said ruffling his hair, the other Marauders had joined him now. "No big deal," he said,trying to make it look like having a large silver ape in the corridor was very normal.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""You were scaring the children weren't you?" she said, being familiar with their activities. "I'm reporting you. All of you. You're coming with me," she said and started leading the way to McGonagalls office.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Lily?" Abbot asked pointedly with his eyebrows raised.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'll catch up with you later," she said with an apologetic look and James' heart gave a leap of delight at the crest-fallen expression on the blonds face.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""I'm surprised that you didn't stop them Remus," Lily said without looking back as she marched the four boys away from the scene while making the Demiguise float behind them. Moony was looking at the ground, a guilty expression on his face.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""It was his idea," Sirius said with a grin and Lily narrowed her eyes at Padfoot making him shut up. They reached the Professor's office and Lily knocked on the door thrice. Moments later the stern looking witch emerged but her stony expression changed to one of shock when she looked at the monster behind her students.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Professor," Lily addressed her to get her attention. "I found them scaring students with that... thing on the fourth floor corridor so I brought them to you."p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;""Thank you Miss Evans, you may leave," she told Lily with a smile. "Why must you always force me to give you boys detention. I'd expect better from you Potter, now that you're captain," she shook her head yet James could swear he saw some pride in her eyes. "And you Mr. Lupin. You're a prefect! You are supposed to stop people from breaking rules, not help them with it. Detention to all of you. You will meet Mr. Filch in the Entrance Hall at eight o' clock sharp. Anyone not there and it will be double detention for them," she finished and closed her office door with a bang.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"James found it impossible to be upset even with detention on Halloween night. So what if he was missing the feast? He had just ruined another one of Lily's dates with Abbot, and this time without even meaning to.p  
>p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px;"strongAN: This chapter was more of a filler. Hope you guys liked it! If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Lastly, please review!strong/p 


	31. Not For Him

**AN: Hey everyone! This is a surprise upload, even for me. I didn't think I'd be able to upload so soon. Please let me know if you have any suggestions AT ALL, it really helps. Thanks for reading, I write this only for you and PLEASE REVIEW, it makes my day.**

Lily felt very smug, she had just turned in stupid Potter and his stupid friends for scaring students on Halloween night. _Serves them right, _she thought. She thought of telling Severus about it so that they could have a good laugh when she realised they weren't on talking terms anymore. She felt her insides give a small twist at the thought of her ex-best friend.

She guessed she owed it to Potter for showing her who he really was, a future Deatheater. Suddenly she stopped feeling sad and instead felt a sort of loathing towards the Slytherin. Towards all of them. They were all going to join the Dark side the minute they left Hogwarts. The scariest part was that they didn't even bother to hide the fact.

They openly admitted that that was exactly what they were aiming to be. Lily could tell that they couldn't wait to serve the one they called their 'Lord'. They were so sure that they would be at large. Well Lily wasn't going to let that happen if she could help it. Right there she gave up her dream of working at 's as a healer and decided that she would do whatever it takes to stop... Voldemort. Lily got chills just by thinking his name. _If I plan on stopping him I cant be scared of him, _she thought as she entered the common room. She went up to her dormitory to change into her uniform for the feast that awaited the students in the Great Hall.

"Did you tell him?" Mary asked her on their way down. Lily had completely forgotten about Johnathan. Poor boy, she remembered the look on his face when she left him in the corridor earlier. She didn't know how long she could keep up the fake relationship with him. She needed to break it off before it got too serious, not that she had any inclination of falling for him. She saw him as a friend and she couldn't stand the thought of hurting him. She decided to break it off with him the next time she saw him. She promised herself.

They entered the Hall and Lily was once again mesmerised by the gorgeous decorations. It didn't matter that she had been in the school for almost six years. There were bats flying around, hundreds of carved pumpkins floated around with candles in them, lighting up the massive room and the enchanted ceiling had dark, grey clouds against a stormy night sky with it lightening occasionally.

After Dumbledore gave his speech all the students tucked in to the magnificent spread made by the Hogwarts house elves. Lily thought of the Marauders, they were probably cleaning some old trophies or sorting some files for Filch and Lily felt a pang of guilt. She didn't know why, but she felt awfully sorry for the boys.

"I'll be back," she told her friends who were too busy eating to notice her leaving. She set off down the corridor towards Filch's office. _You're feeling guilty because Remus is with those prats, NOT because of _**_him,_** she tried to convince herself, although,deep down she knew it wasn't true. As expected She found Remus and Black in the caretaker's office, upto their eyeballs in old files. She cleared her throat to get their attention. Sirius sneezed and when he saw Lily standing there he sneezed again and Lily couldn't help but give him a small smile.

Remus looked up from a stack of papers and asked," Hey Lils. Why aren't you at the feast?"

"I came to get you, of course," she said as if it were obvious and the two boys looked confused. "Just come," she sighed and they followed her out without any hesitation, relieved that they could Get away from the dust. "Where are the others," she asked Remus.

"Dungeons. Scrubbing the floor for Slughorn," the prefect replied and she led them down the stairs and into the Potions corridor. They wandered around a bit looking for Potter and Pettigrew when they heard some very loud complaining coming from a room, Lily could recognise that voice anywhere. They opened the door and there she saw whom she was looking for. Peter was red in the face and was panting as he sat on the floor, his legs spread out in front of him. Potter was half-heartedly scrubbing the floor, saying something about his wand.

Both of them looked up together and both had the same questioning expression, although Potter looked kind of cute while Peter just looked like he had eaten a particularly sour pickle. Potter scrambled to his feet and brushed off some dirt from his robes. His hair had become wilder with the work he had been doing and Lily found herself fighting the urge to go over and run her fingers through it.

"Come on," she ordered them and the followed her without a word.

"What are you doing, Evans?" Potter asked her as he followed her back to the Great Hall.

"It's Halloween and I don't think its fair for you to miss the feast," she answered. "I'm doing this for Remus," she clarified, not wanting Potter to get a wrong impression.

"That's very cool of you. Unexpected, but cool," he smirked and but she saw a warm look in his beautiful hazel eyes. She had to turn away so that he wouldn't see her blush. "Won't we get into trouble?"

"I'll handle it," she assured.

"She's a keeper," she heard Black whisper to Potter.

"I know," Potter whispered back, making Lily smile to herself.

**AN: I really hope you guys liked it. Did you see the picture I've put up for the story? What do you think about it? If you have more pictures of the two please link it to me and I can make it the picture of the story! And as always, please Review!**


	32. Quidditch Finals

AN: Hey guys! My exams are finally over and I'm back. Sorry for my absence but I will try to post as many chapters as soon as possible before my next set of examinations begin (yes I know, they're a pain in the arse) Thank you so much for reading and please review!

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><p>James was finding it hard to believe that Lily Evans had just rescued him from detention but he thought himself to be too cool to let it show. He, along with the other Marauders joined Lily and her friends in a civil meal, thoroughly enjoying the Halloween Feast.<br>"The elves have really outdone themselves this year," Sirius said through a mouthful of heavenly chicken and James couldn't agree with him more.  
>"Stuff yourself all you want 'cause we have Quidditch practice all day tomorrow," James reminded the beater, making Sirius glare at him. James was determined to win the Quidditch Cup since it was his first year as Captain and he didn't care how hard he had to train for that. He wanted to show McGonagall that she had made the right decision trusting him with the post. He wanted to make her proud. He wanted to make his parents proud. He wanted to make his house proud and show the school he wasn't only a good-for-nothing rebel.<br>The weeks went by and it was already the Quidditch finals. Gryffindor had entered the competition as an underdog of sorts since they had an untried captain but in spite of the odds being against them they had proved everyone wrong and would be fighting Ravenclaw for the Cup. The entire school was buzzing with excitement and no one could explain why but it felt like it was going to be an interesting match.  
>It was a frosty morning and James didn't want to leave his bed, not sure whether it was because he didn't want to leave the warmth of his duvet or because the butterflies in his stomach threatened to eat his insides. He tried to get himself to focus and played the strategies he had planned out with his team mates in his head as he got dressed. He dragged himself down this stairs for breakfast forcing himself to smile at everyone who was wishing him luck along the way. He was the last team member to arrive and although he was scared out of his pants, he put on a brave face for the other players. Remus gave him a concerned look which James chose to ignore. Leave it to his best friends to see right through him.<br>After breakfast, the team assembeled in the changing room where James would deliver his usual pep talk. He stood in front of his scarlet-clad team, completely blank, not knowing what to say. He opened his mouth and closed it several times, looking like a fish, and what came out was of it's own accord.  
>"I don't know what to say but I want you to guys to know that what happens today doesn't matter. You have worked your arses off and have trained hard and trained to the best of each of your abilities. Throughout the tournament we've surprised the school and I don't think today will be any different. I admit that Ravenclaw is a very strong team but I've seen you guys play, I know what you're capable of. You have proved those who said we didn't have a chance wrong. Today I want you to go out there and play the best game of Quidditch you can, the game of Quidditch I know you can play. So who's ready to kick some Ravenclaw arse!" A loud cheer erupted from the team and they thumped James on the back ready to go out and face the enemy.<br>"Great speech," Sirius said as they walked onto the pitch. James smiled as he went to shake hands with the Ravenclaw Captain. What came out of his mouth was of it's own accord, but James meant every word.  
>"On my whistle," Madam Hooch was saying and as soon as she blew all fourteen players rose into the air and the balls were released. James flew straight for the Quaffle, catching it with ease. He tossed it to Cole who zipped past all other players.<br>"AND GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" James heard the commentator Damon Hodge scream. Twenty minutes into the game, Gryffindor was down 50-30 and James was getting impatient wanting to equalise the score.  
>"Potter with the Quaffle, passes to Arquette, back to Potter. Those two are really teasing Ravenclaw. Potter headed for the middle hoop AND HE SCOREES!" Hodge was saying. James removed his hands from his broom to air punch in celebration and was nearly knocked over by a lightning fast flash of red which he later ealised was Marlene. He watched as she flew furiously to the other end of the pitch along with the Ravenclaw seeker at her heels. She stretched out her hand and the entire stadium erupted with cheers. James was being swarmed by his team mates and it took several moments before it sunk in.<br>"Beautiful catch by McKinnon and GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

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><p>AN: I was really apprehensive about writing a Quidditch match because I wasn't sure whether it would turn out well. Please leave a review or send me a PM telling me what you thought about it! Please review because I need to know if people are still reading this. Thanks for reading!<p> 


	33. The after Party

AN: Hey everyone! I'm sorry this update took so long, school has been keeping me very busy and I'd be lying to you if I said I'll upload faster from now on because I'm not sure myself. Please let me know what your thoughts are on the story and I would love any suggestions you guys send me, I might even add some in the story! Thanks for reading.

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><p>The entire stadium erupted. Whether with glee or pure annoyance, Lily couldn't tell. She shrieked wtih joy and grabbed Mary and Alice for a group hug. They were so proud of Marlene, who had won their house the cup after a dry spell.<br>The three girls ran down the stands waiting patiently for Marlene who appeared moments later hoisted on her team mates shoulders, holding up the shining trophy they had worked so hard for. She was grinning from ear to ear, not even trying to contain herself. And why should she? Not only Marlene but each and every player had worked their arses off for the cup and Lily knew about that all too well since she would end up doing most of Marlene's homework for her since she hardly got any time because of her busy practice schedule.

As Sirius lowered Marlene to the ground she turned around and planted a small kiss on his cheeks, making his eyes grow wide. Lily couldn't help but giggle; she had never, in all her years of being unfortunate enough to know the obnoxious Marauder seen him blush because of her girl. She had been used to seeing him being chased by girls from all years, mercilessly breaking their hearts, but now he looked like a giddy school girl.

Marlene spotted her friends and walked over to them, completely forgetting about the stunned boy behind her, whether on purpose or not, Lily wasn't sure. She squeeled with happiness and jumped up and down before she almost tackled them in a hug. Arm in arm, the four best friends made their way up to Gryffindor Tower, where no doubt a party awaited them. On the way several people congratulated Marlene and Lily felt her chest swell up with pride.

"I can't believe you guys won!" Mary said in a very excited voice. "Not that I didn't expect you to," she added quickly before Marlene could mis-understand her.

"The team worked really hard for it," Alice added. "You guys definitely deserved it."  
>"Thanks Alice," the seeker beamed. "And as much as you might hate me for saying this Lils, we wouldn't have won without James. He worked harder than all of us put together and pushed us to borders we never thought possible for us. If I ever get into professional Quidditch, I'll have him to thank." Lily wasn't sure how to respond but lucky for her they had reached the common room and were welcomed with loud cheers.<p>

Before they could climb into the room, they were pulled inside. Marlene was dragged of by her team mates, she turned around and gave them an apologetic smile but Lily didn't mind one bit. There was Butterbeer and Firewhisky being passed around; where on earth had that come from? She was pretty sure the Hogwarts kitchen didn't have bottles of alcohol lying around but she decided to drop it and enjoy the celebration.

She grabbed a Butterbeer from a passing tray and took a few sips. She felt the warm sensation inside her and it made her feel happier than she already was. Half way through the party, she saw a very tipsy Potter struggle to stand on a desk. He somehow managed to gain his balance as he called for everyone's attention and gave the worst thank you speech in all of history.

"I just want to... just want to thank my parents, my baby brother," James was an only child. "For helping me throught this difficult time." Lily had no idea what that meant. "You guys... are the awesome-est people on the planet... I miss my pet fish... DRINK UP!" he finished and everyone in the room applauded for their captain. Lily felt a smile creep across her lips. Potter's cheeks were flushed, his hair was even messier than usual, his hazel eyes glinted with an inexpressible joy... Lily had never found him more attractive.

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><p>AN: Hope you guys liked it! Please let me know what you think in a review or a PM as it really helps. Thanks for reading and look out for more!<p>


	34. Runaway

AN: Hey guys! This is a surprise upload, even for me. I was so happy with the lovely reviews I received on the last chapter yesterday that I just HAD to upload today. Please don't hate me if it's horrible, I didn't have much time to type this since I have a test in school tomorrow for which I should be studying but am utterly neglecting. Please let me know what you think in a review or a PM, it really helps me out!

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><p>James was awoken by a loud clatter coming from the living room downstairs. He had been home from Hogwarts for only a couple of days but he longed to go back to the castle. His friends would be coming over to stay in a weeks time, before which he was going to die of boredom.<br>He threw off his covers, grabbed his wand from his bedside and tiptoed towards the door. Silently turning the doorknob, he tried to peer down the stairs. He could still hear some movement from below so he padded towards the source as quietly as he could although the cracking of joints in his sleepy body gave him away. He realised that his parents were away to work leaving him alone at home with the house elf who was nowhere around.  
>He held up his wand ready to fight, not caring if he was under age. He entered the kitchen to see someone sitting at the table, their head buried in their hands.<br>"Sirius?" James called out to his best friend not sure what Sirius was doing here so soon. Sirius looked up and James noticed he was crying but he refused to believe his eyes. Sirius Black never cried. James cautiously walked over to where the boy sat and took the seat in front of him.  
>"What's wrong mate?" he asked not liking the sight before him. Sirius furiously wiped away his tears, as if just realising he'd been caught weeping. He took a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down.<br>"I-I..." Sirius stuttered. James was scared. What could have happened which had shaken up Sirius so bad? " I... ran away from home," he finished so softly that James was surprised he could hear it. "They were being really sick, insulting muggle borns and half bloods," he carried on and James understood he was talking about his parents. "They were talking about You-Know-Who as if he were a God. About how great he is and how he'd be able to... cleanse the society. I couldn't take it. How could they be so vile? So I told them they were wrong and that they should shove it up their own," he sniffed. " We got into a big argument and I told them I wasn't their son so I took my stuff and left."  
>James had never been hurt and proud at the same time. " I'm sorry," he said. " But I'm so proud of you. You stood up against your own family. You stuck by what you believed in and from your background, no offence to you," Sirius waved his hand to show that he didn't mind," I'd be surprised if you had turned out half as decent as you are."<br>Sirius looked up at James, his eyes were sad but there was a soft smile on his lips. "You really think so?" he asked, sounding like a little child. James nodded enthusiastically making Sirius happy.  
>"Thanks. But don't have anywhere to go," He said looking down at his hands.<br>"What?" James asked almost angry. " You'll stay here of course!"  
>"Your parents won't kind?"<br>"Please. They like you better than me."  
>"Obviously," Sirius smirked playfully. "Who wouldn't?" James rolled his eyes at him.<br>"Want some breakfast?" James asked. Getting up to get the utensils out. He couldn't wait to turn seventeen, he'd be able to cook himself a meal at this flick of a wand.  
>"Yeah," Sirius replied. "I'm starving!"<br>"Well then you better help me," James said and went on to give Sirius directions about what to do. They managed to make a decent breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, toast and pumpkin juice without setting anything on fire and spent the rest of the morning playing Quidditch, cracking jokes and enjoying the company of someone who was so much like themselves.

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><p>AN: Hope you guys liked it. I didn't want to make it too sad because I can't stand the idea of Sirius being upset. Thanks for reading and PLEASE review!<p> 


	35. Heads

AN: Hey guys! So it seems like I'm back on some kind of schedule. I'm so happy to be back! I'm going to try and finish the story this year so that it doesn't get unnecessarily stretched out. I think it should be done in another ten chapters (hopefully) Please let me know what you think and leave a review (it motivates me)

Lily was standing on platform 93/4 waiting to board the Hogwarts Express for the last time. she was ready for her final year at the castle where she had been appointed Headgirl. When Lily received the letter she was surprised beyond words even though everyone she knew kept telling her that she would get the post.  
>She stood in a corner, taking in the scene before her. There were people of all ages scurrying around the platform. Some were greeting their friends, others were saying goodbye to their families. Lily thought back to the first time she was there. She remembered how scared she had been about running through the barrier. She thought of how it was the only time Petunia had come to see her off. She thought of how she had had only one friend, whom she didn't even look at anymore. Sev... as if on cue, he caught her eye. His dead, black ones burning into her pretty green orbs. He stared at her a little longer than she was comfortable with. She broke the eye contact first, feeling uneasy bi=ut not letting it show.<br>It was her last year at Hogwarts and she was determined to make it the best one yet. She stood there for a few more minutes watching people while occasionally smiling at passers-by. After what seemed like ages Mary and Alice came bobbing towards her.  
>"Congratulations!" Mary said, as she hugged Lily.<br>"I told you you'd get it," Alice laughed hugging her as well.  
>"Thanks guys," Lily was glad to see them again. "We should board the train if we want to get a carriage to ourselves." They dragged their trunks behind them as they boarded the steaming scarlet train. Lily took one last sweeping look at the platform before climbing in after her friends.<br>Marlene joint them just moments before the train started moving.  
>" I overslept... was rushing... almost missed it..." she panted, clearly she had been running. she plonked herself into the seat next to Lily, resting her head on the red heads shoulder.<br>"Oh!" Marlene almost shouted. She jumped and squeezed Lily. "Congratulations! I knew you'd be Head Girl," she said very excitedly. "I wonder who's Head Boy."  
>"No idea," Lily replied, wanting to find out herself. She decided that she should probably go to the prefects carriage to give them instructions and also start planning the school year with the Head Boy. Lily's curiosity began to grow as she got closer to the carriage. She pulled open the door to see none other than James Potter standing in the center of the room with a shiny badge on his chest. A badge that said Head Boy.<p>

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><p>AN: Hope you guys liked it. PLEASE let me know what you think through a PM or a review, it really helps me out. Thanks for reading!<p> 


	36. Surprise!

AN: Hey guys! I was so happy with the amount of people making this story a favourite. I would really like to thank all of you who have shown me so much support, if only you knew how much it meant to me. Thank you for reading and please leave a review or send me a PM because I really need to know if you are liking this story or not. Please let me know if you have ANY suggestions or any advice, I will definitely take it into account.

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><p>James heard the cabin door slide open and looked up to see Lily standing at the door. Her hair was loosely tied, a few strands falling over her face. She was staring right at James wearing a very perplexed expression. James couldn't blame her; when he received his Hogwarts letter and was told that he had been made Head Boy he was sure he had been delivered the wrong letter.<br>"Good morning, Evans" he said in an attempt to break the trance she was in. She jumped in surprise as if just realising that she had been staring at him for almost a full minute. Luckily the other prefects hadn't arrived yet. James had wanted to be the first one at the meeting to prove that he was taking his duties seriously. She looked at him puzzled and glance back at his badge.  
>"You're Head Boy?" she asked raising her eyebrows. James couldn't help but feel slightly offended by her tone.<br>"Surprised?" he asked her, waiting for her reaction.  
>She cracked a smile,"Okay, who put you up to this? Was it Remus?" she asked, confusing James for a moment until he realised what she meant.<br>"What? You think this is a joke?"  
>"Of course it is. Now where's Remus? He's going to be late for the meeting."<br>"Evans, I'm Head Boy. Can't you see the badge," he said pointing at the prestigious piece of metal gleaming on his chest. "You don't have to be so insensitive," he said, feigning hurt.  
>Her face dropped. "WHAT? You're kidding right?" She was almost yelling. "Who in their right mind would make YOU Head Boy?" the expression on her face was priceless and James found himself holding back a laugh.<br>"Well obviously Dumbledore thought it'd be a good idea."  
>"Why in the name of Merlin would he appoint you? Does he want to get the castle burnt down?"<br>"I know!" James said, now thoroughly enjoying himself, he didn't let Lily's words sting because she was taking it better than he could ever imagine. "He's off his rocker!"  
>"This is MENTAL!" she shrieked. James couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked when she was angry. 'No.' he thought to himself. ' You are not going to think of Evans.' Over the summer, James had promised himself that he would not chase Lily this year. She didn't like him, nor would she ever. He had tried enough and now he had to move on. It hurt him just to think like that but he knew it was true. Lily was never going to be his so why should he carry on making an absolute fool of himself?<br>Just then a group of prefects entered the carriage and when they noticed James, the stopped dead in their tracks. They stared at him as if he had grown another head. They carried on staring at him as they took their seats, waiting for the meeting to start. Once all the prefects had assembled, Lily and James addressed the students before them. They reminded them of the rules, their duties and gave them schedules they would have to follow in the new school year. James could tell that Lily was surprised by his participation in the meeting. She probably expected him to sit with his feet up and let her do all the work.  
>James was determined to change the schools perspective of him. He wanted to show them that there was more to him than the Quidditch Captain-playboy-pranker they all knew.<p>

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><p>AN: Hope you guys liked it! And like I said earlier please let me know what you think. Thank you, yes you, the beautiful person reading this right now, for being so amazing.<p> 


	37. Chapter 37

AN: Hey guys! I'm sorry this chapter took so long but I was... out saving unicorns! Yes, that's the truth... OK, no it's not. I had very important examinations on which my entire life depends so I was kind of studying for those. But now, after TWO years of school leading up to them, THEY'RE FINALLY OVER! You can't even imagine how relieved I'm feeling right now. But enough about me and my stupid excuses and on with the story!

The prefects meeting went better than expected. Contrary to Lily's expectations, Potter actually helped her instead of making her life living hell as usual. He even made valuable contributions to their discussions. James Potter had changed but if it was for better or for worse, Lily wasn't sure. His hair seemed slightly less ruffled and he wasn't making a joke out of everything that was being said. The only thing that bothered Lily, and she didn't want to believe the reason why, was that he hadn't tried to ask her out even once.  
>'Good,' Lily thought. 'He's finally got the message throught his thick skull and has finally realised that I don't want to go out with him. Lily tried to feel glad but the positive feelings she was trying to summon were unable to cover up her dissapointment.<br>Over the summer Lily's guilt got the better of her and she knew she had to break it off with Johnathan. She sent him a letter to meet her in London during their break.  
>"John," Lily took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you." Lily was about to start off on a speech she had been practising but before she could, John cut her off.<br>"It's okay, Lily. I know what you're going to say. You don't want to be together anymore and I sort of saw that. I've just been waiting for you to tell me," he said giving her a sad smile. "You're a good person Lily and I hope you see that in yourself. See you around," he whispered, kissing her softly on the cheek before turning around and walking away.  
>Lily had felt awful but two days later she had received a letter from the kind Hufflepuff saying that just because they weren't dating did not men they had to stop being friends. Lily was so happy that Johnathan still wanted to be in her company even after she had practically broken his heart.<br>Lily went back to her carriage and joined her friends.  
>"You'll never guess who's Head Boy," she said sitting down by the window.<br>"Potter," Marlene said without looking up from the copy of Witch Weekly she was reading. "We heard from the other students."  
>"And that doesn't surprise you?" Lily was shocked by her friends indifference to the situation.<br>"Not really," Alice said with a shrug. "If you come to think of it... He's Quidditch Captain, gets good grades and all the teachers are fond of him. Ignore his daily detention and you've got the perfect Head Boy," she finished simply. Lily looked at her friend as if she'd grown another head. She had never expected to hear 'James Potter' and 'Perfect Head Boy' in the same sentence unless there was a massive NOT in between.  
>"But he wasn't even a Prefect!" she exclaimed.<br>"There'll always be exceptions," Mary chimed. What was wrong all of her friends today? Normally they would just join in and insult the Marauders with her but today... were they siding with them?  
>"What's gotten into you lot?" Lily said, voicing her thoughts. "Why are you being so nice to those baffoons?"<br>"We just feel you may be a bit too harsh on the boys," Alice said. "You need to calm down Lily. This is your last year at Hogwarts and you really need to enjoy it, not waste it on people you don't like."  
>Did they have a secret meeting while she was away? Inspite of that, Lily felt Alice's words were aimed at two sets of people. An unlikely Head Boy and heart breaking ex-best friend.<p>

AN: I know this chapter wasn't very exciting but I just want them to reach the castle soon! Hope you guys are liking my story so far. Thank you for reading and please review!  
>Ps: I will be travelling for five days so I will try my hardest to put up chapter 38 tomorrow to make up for my absence!<p> 


	38. Worth It

AN: Hey guys! As promised I've uploaded Chapter 38 today. I'm as surprised as you are. Please leave your suggestions and ideas in a review or you can PM if you want. Thank you for reading and please review!

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><p>The weeks were flying by exceptionally fast for James. With his duties as Head and Quidditch Captain in addition to all his N.E.W.T's work he was sure he'd go insane by the Holidays. But keeping up with all his school work wasn't half as tough as Keeping himself from asking Lily out. James had been on his best behaviour around her, hoping to change the way she looked at him and he was glad to say they had formed a friendship of sorts.<p>

Lily had actually started acting in a civil manner towards him and for the first time in his school life she didn't give him a look laced with anger or hatred. Although it ached him not be able to express his true feelings for the red head he knew it would hurt ten times more if he ruined their friendship by opening his big mouth. And that was a risk he was not willing to take.

What made controlling himself even tougher as if it wasn't a Herculean task already was that as Heads, Lily and James were forced to spend a lot of time together. Every night they had to patrol the corridors and make sure there weren't any students out of bed. They would often find some lost First Years who would have to be escorted back to their common room, a couple snogging in a broom cupboard who would flush and become flustered at being caught or some troublemakers, not unlike James had been, trying to devise and test some new prank. James would often catch himself looking at Lily on awe and would have to mentally scold himself for it.

'No', he would think. 'Get a hold of yourself! You need to move on, you can't let her string you along.' Even if Lily had no clue that's what she was doing.

Before James could register how the time had passed, it was almost Halloween. Even if James had a choice, he wouldn't go home for the break and miss being in the beautifully haunting castle. Professor Mcgonagall had left it to the prefects just like every year, to plan the Senior Halloween Ball. It was annual ball that was held for fourth years and older. The school would've conducted it during Christmas but the castle is close to deserted at that time.

Lily and James had organised a prefect meeting to distribute duties. some were in charge of decorations, some for ensuring the house elves made the right food and most stationed around the school to make sure nobody who wasn't supposed to be there entered the Hall. James had taken it upon himself to make a chart of the duties and when he handed Lily the parchment with his untidy scrawl on it, he felt his chest swell up with pride at the impressed look on her face.

He was willing to change himself for her, something he never thought he would do for anybody but Lily was worth it. He hated that she had this effect on him and although he wasn't where he wanted to be with Lily, he was glad to be closer to her than ever before. And for that he was thankful.

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><p>AN: PLEASE READ. I know this was a filler, I just wanted to show how James changed himself for Lily and even though he wasn't her boyfriend he was glad just to be friendly with her. I also wanted to tell you how much he was hurting on the inside because of it. I hope you guys liked it and the next chapter should be up early next week (sunday or monday) because that's when I get back and I won't be taking my laptop with me. I don't know how I'll survive. As always, thanks for reading and please review! (just leave a tiny comment, they make me so happy :D)<p> 


	39. The Insy Winsy Spider

AN: Hey guys! Like promised Chapter 39 is up on time :D I'm so happy that I'm back on a schedule of sorts especially after all the time I was forced to stay away. A massive thank you to Wicked pumpkin for suggesting the title of this chapter :) I hope you guys like this and as always, thanks for reading and leave a review!

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><p>Lily was on her nightly rounds with Potter. They had been Patrolling the corridors for almost an hour and only had to tell off a couple of students who looked like they were trying to sneak into the kitchens. They were passing through the third floor corridor when Potter stopped dead in his tracks.<p>

"What?" Lily asked, a little confused.

"Huh?" his head snapped to face her with an air of almost idiocy. "Oh, it's nothing. Can we just use the other passage?"

"Why? What's wrong with this?"

"Please?"

"But that route is so much longer!" Lily complained. "Besides, we've been going this way all these nights why do you want to change the paths?"

Potter sighed," There;s a spider up ahead."

"What? How do you know?" Lily said as she craned her neck to see the insect.

"I can see it! There beneath that window," He pointed to a spot ten feet away. "Look, can we please just go the other way?" James whined.

"You're scared, aren't you?" Lily asked, a smile forming on her lips. "James Potter is scared of an insy-winsy spider?" she mocked him, making his face turn a bright shade of pink.

"I-I'm not scared," he stuttered. "I just don't like them."

"Really? Then you wouldn't mind me doing this," Lily whipped out her wand levitated the spider and brought it closer to Potter, very slowly. She supressed a laugh as she saw the look of absolute horror spread across the Head Boy's now pale face. She levitated the sider closer to him and he began backing away.

"Lily... please don't," he begged, terror taking over his handsome features. Lily laughed at the fact that James Potter, who always acted so tough and unafraid was scared of something as small as that spider. "Lily... STOP! NO!" he shrieked as he took of in a sprint trying to put as much distance as possible between him and the tiny creature.

Lily began chasing after him, all the while floating the spider in front of her. She laughed loudly as she tore down the corridor, the sound of her speedy footsteps echoed loudly. Lily was fast almost as fast as the Quidditch player she was chasing. Lily felt like she had been transformed into a kid once again. She felt a sort of freedom, something she hadn't experienced since her fifth year. In that moment she felt like there was nothing bad in the world. She wasn't sure what that had to do with chasing someone with a spider, but it had been fun.

She saw him turn a corner and sped up her pace. He had hit a dead end. His back was pressed against the wall, his breath was shallow and rapid and his cheeks were flushed because of all the running. He stared at her wide eyed as she approached, dangling the poor creature a few inches from his face.

Lily went against every fibre in her body and the temptation the current situation was offering her and lowered her wand, releasing the spider and allowing it to scuttle away. She saw Potter release a breath she hadn't noticed he'd been holding. He visibly relaxed and stood up a little straighter.

"So, James Potter is afraid of a little bug," Lily smirked as soon as she was able to breath normally again.

"They're vile creatures!"

"They're harmless."

"Tell yourself that when they bite you!" James retorted as they began to walk away from that spot to finish off their rounds. Lily was still grinning from ear to ear.

"You should've seen your face!" Lily laughed.

"It wasn't not funny," James said like a child, looking adorable.

"You're right ...it was HILARIOUS!" Lily said, bursting out in another fit of giggles. James rolled his eyes at her, not responding. By the time they reached the common room, Lily's belly was hurting because she had laughed too hard.

"Night James," she yawned, her exhaustion finally getting the better of her.

"Night Lils," she heard him respond from behind her and she smiled at the use of her pet name.

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><p>AN: PLEASE READ: (I'm aware I say that a lot) I hope you guys noticed that towards the end of the chapter Lily started thinking of him as 'James' and not 'Potter'. I also hope you guys like it. You also may have noticed that all my chapters don't have titles, it's because I can't always think of something suitable. So if you have any suggestion that you think will be fitting then please do let me know through a PM or a review. Thank you for reading and please review! :)<p> 


	40. It Isn't Going To Be Easy

**AN: You can shoot me. I'm sorry I haven't uploaded BUT this time I have a valid reason: my laptop has stopped working and I had no where to type my stuff on. I'm currently secretly using my brothers computer since he's not home... Sshhh. He mustn't know I write. On with the story!**

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><p>James walked back with Lily to complete their rounds before they could get back to the comfort of their common room. The recently passed events were replaying themselves in his head. He found himself thinking about the sound of Lilys laugh, the way her eyes twinkled mischievously, and the colour of her cheeks that could rival that of her hair as she chased him down the corridor.<p>

They reached the common room far too soon for James' liking.

"Night James," he heard her call out as she climbed the steps to the girls dormitories. He felt the colour rise to his cheeks at the sound of her voice saying his name. He slowly turned around to see the red head standing still on the staircase before shooting up the steps and closing the door behind her.

James strolled up to his dorm and opened the door to find Moony writing an essay for some homework they had been assigned, Padfoot was lying on his bed reading a book while Wormtail was nowhere in sight. He flopped down on his bed hardly registering his surroundings, a massive grin plastered to his face and a glazed look in his hazel eyes. The other two boys were confused by the silence which hardly ever accompanied the Head Boy and they knew only one thing, or rather person, who could have this effect on their friend. Lily Evans.

"What's gotten into you?" Sirius asked, sitting up a bit straighter. Remus had put down his quill and was leaning back in his chair, looking at James expectantly for a reply.

"Huh?" Prongs snapped out of his reverie. "Oh... it's nothing," he said, trying to shrug it off.

"Mate," Sirius said. "Are you really going to lie to us?" he raised his eyebrows and Remus nodded in agreement.

"Its just... " James struggled to find the right words.

"Its Lily, isn't it? Moony asked knowingly.

"How did you know?" James was confused making the others smile.

"You're never really quiet are you?" Remus laughed. "The only times you ever shut your mouth if Lily's involved. We're your friends. We're supposed to know stuff like this."

James sighed," I dont know what to do!" he fell back onto his bed. "I've been trying so hard not to like her, to stop my feelings from running helter-skelter whenever I'm around her but it doesn't work! It's like the more I try, the more I like her. And what makes it tougher is that I know I can never have her and that she'll never like me back!" he covered his face with a pillow. He didn't want to see the looks of pity he was undoubtedly getting from his two best mates.

"James," Remus started with a soft voice and a serious expression," Have you ever considered the possibility that the feelings you have for Lily is stronger than just a liking?"

"What do you mean?" James removed the pillow from his face, his brows furrowed.

"Have you ever considered that you more than like Lily?"

"I- I..." James was a little taken aback by this question. What really were his feelings for Lily? He couldn't stop thinking about her and he hadn't ever had a serious relationship with any girl because he always compared them to the beautiful red head.

"I'm not sure," he said uncertainly. "I don't know what's going on!" he exclaimed, hating the internal agony he was going through.

"Prongs... " Sirius said, "I think you love her."

"What?" James did not want to take all this in. But when he thought about it... Maybe they were right. What else could possibly drive him up the wall this way?

"But I can't be with her."

"Why not?" Moony asked, it was his turn to be confused.

"She deserves better," James stated simply.

"James, you can't just let go of the girl you love," Sirius said incredulously.

"I can because that's what I should do. She deserves someone better than me. Someone who's worthier than me."

"What about you?" Padfoot asked, the sadness visible in his otherwise playful grey eyes.

"Me? I'm going to suppress my feelings until they go away."

The elation James had been feeling prior to this conversation had vanished without a trace, letting a feeling of despair wash over him.

On Halloween night the castle was decorated to make it look even spookier than usual. There were carved pumpkins everywhere and the ceiling in the Great Hall portrayed a stormy night sky. The younger students had finished off with the feast and had retired for the night. The four house tables had been removed to be replaced with several small round tables scattered around the edges of the Hall, leaving a large dance floor in the centre.

James as Head Boy had reached the Hall early to ensure all the arrangements had been made. He was wearing a set of classic black dress robes for the occasion. He had tried his hardest to neaten his hair with a magic potion Remus had brewed for him but to no avail. It was still a black mess on his head, sticking up in all angles. James was so apprehensive about everything running smoothly that he unconsciously kept running his hand through his hair, making it look more wind swept than ever.

Soon the students began pouring in. There was a mix of colours ranging from black to bright yellow. The boys were in dress robes while the girls had the liberty to choose between dress robes, gowns or dresses.

James scanned the crowd for familiar faces and saw Sirius chatting up a sixth year Hufflepuff girl while Moony was standing in a corner talking to Mary making James smile to himself. His smile soon dropped when he caught sight of an enchanting figure entering the hall. He stood there gaping at Lily who was wearing a black cocktail dress, falling just above her knees, looking breathtaking. She was walking in with Alice, smiling at the passing students but he could tell she was a little apprehensive walking around on heels.

If James was going to suppress his feelings for this girl... She sure as hell wasn't making it easy.

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><p><strong>AN: Hey everyone! Hope you liked it. It was much longer than I expected it to be. YAY! Thank you SO much for reading and PLEASE review, it makes me happy :]<strong>

**And if anyone wants someone to talk to, no matter what it's about... please don't hesitate to PM me. We need to be there for each other. It's a cruel world but you're not alone.**


	41. Halloween Ball

AN: AAHHH! Thank you for the lovely reviews :D Reading them made me want to upload a new chapter as soon as I got home from school, that's all I was thinking about all day. You guys make me so happy :')

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><p>Lily entered the Great Hall with Alice on the evening of the Halloween Ball. Marlene had lent her a black knee-length cocktail dress, which thankfully fit Lily perfectly.<p>

It was a strapless dress which fit like a bodice till the waist from where it flowed out, the lower section of the dress had an extra layer of lace to it. Alice had helped her with her hair, putting it in a flaming red bun with a few loose strands of hair framing her face. Lily's mum had sent her a pair of shoes just for the occasion. They were a pair of nude colour high heels which made Lily's legs look longer than they were, for which she was thankful.

Lily trotted along the hallways in her heels, Alice walking beside her holding her hand just in case. sure Lily had worn heels before but none of them had ever been this high. As they neared the Great Hall Lily let go of her best friends hand attempting to look confident. She smiled at a few passing students and ignored the stares she was getting. She scanned the crowd and saw Mary and remus talking in a corner, oblivious to their surroundings. She saw Marlene dancing with some random boy in the middle of the dance floor, making the boy earn a few envious glares.

Her eyes stopped when she caught sight of James, staring right back at her with his mouth slightly open. She smiled to herself and made her way over to him with Alice right behind her.

She needed to thank Alice for forcing her to dress up for the event. Back in the dorm Alice was sitting on her heels, rummaging through Lily's trunk looking for some accessories. She found some small studs, some were just singular pieces, their pair completely lost. She finally settled on some simple diamond studs which had been a gift from Lily's grandmother. She was looking for something more when she found a small box. She opened and saw a plain bracelet, chaste in design.

"Why don't you wear this?" she asked Lily, holding it up. Lily looked up to see Alice holding the bracelet James had given her back in fifth year. Lily had completely forgotten about it, she didn't even know that she had it.

"Alright," she said, not minding the choice. "Are you done?" she was getting tired.

"I'm not even getting started," she smiled back evilly as she moved forward to attack Lily's hair.

Lily snapped back to reality just in time to see James look her up and down, but not in a way like the other boys. It was a different look... a look Lily couldn't quite place.

"James!" she greeted him, taking both Alice and the Head Boy by surprise. She realised her mistake and immediately cleared her throat. "Professor McGonagall asked me to inform you that the Heads shall be leading the dance. I hope you knew that." He nodded in response. He was being far more responsible than Lily ever thought possible.

The teachers began making appearances. Professor Dumbledore stood at the end of the room, farthest from the entrance.

"Welcome children, although I can hardly call you that, to the Annual School Halloween Ball. A massive thank you to the prefectorial body for organising such a fantastic event for us," there was a round of applause. " Please do enjoy yourselves but remember; no unruly behaviour is expected of you," he gave a knowing look to Sirius, who undoubtedly had planned on sneaking Fiewhisky into the Hall.

The music began playing once again and a few notes in James took hold of mLily's hand and led her to the dance floor. Lily could feel several pairs of eyes boring into her back as James cautiously placed his hand on her back, taking her right in his left. They moved with the music but Lily could tell James wasn't much of a dancer. She found herself leading him instead of the other way around but she didn't mind. She was glad she was wearing high heels otherwise her partner would have been towering over her, but even now he somehow managed to be taller out of the two.

She looked up to see a slight look of disbelief on his face. He held her at a respectable distance but even then she could see the slight golden colour in his otherwise hazel eyes.

"You're... That's the... Isn't that the bracelet I gave you?" he asked, stuttering. "You still have it?"

"Alice pulled it out for me," she replied and watched his face fall a fraction. She realised how rude that must've sounded. 'Good job Lily,' she thought. 'Way to go!' She sighed," I meant Alice told me to wear it."

They carried on dancing for a little bit and Lily didn't even notice James hand which had made its way down to rest on her waist. She glanced down and tried to hide the blush creeping up her neck. She cursed her hair for not being around to cover it up.

At this point several other pairs of students had joined them. James seemed to notice too and he abruptly stopped, dropped her hand and moved away from her' getting lost in the crowd.

Lily was a little disappointed as she walked away from the happy couples and began searching for her friends. Alice was with Frank while both Mary and Marlene had disappeared. Dejectedly she grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice and sat down sipping it. After refusing a few invitations to dance, Lily decided to call it a night and slowly began making her way back to the Gryffindor common room.

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><p>AN: Hey everyone! Please help me name some of the chapters I was unable to on my own! You can leave suggestions in a review or a PM and if I use your idea I WILL GIVE YOU CREDIT. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it and please review! I might just end up uploading one tomorrow. Probably not. But there's a small chance of that happening.<p> 


	42. Harmless

AN: Hello all you beautiful people! I'm receiving such nice and motivating reviews from you guys that I just WANT to upload as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and please review!

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><p>*Continued from the previous chapter*<p>

Lily left the Great Hall, she really had no reason to stay seeing as all her friends had gone off their own, not that she minded. She took the long route up to the Common Room; walking down the halls watching her shadow following her, her only companion in that silent, deserted part of the castle. She crossed a classroom but backed up when she heard muffled sounds coming from behind the door.

She pushed open the door, ready to tell off some students but the sight that greeted her was quite the opposite to what she had been expecting. She saw a boy with sandy blond hair sitting on the floor, his back against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest. He was sobbing, oblivious to Lily standing at the door. It took Lily less than a second to recognise who it was.

She reached Remus in three quick strides and sunk down to the floor beside him. She wrapped her arm around him and felt him tense up for a moment befor burying his head into her shoulder, shaking with violent sobs. Lily wasn't sure how long they had been sitting there, but she didn't care. Remus had calmed down with occasional sniffs while Lily rubbed his back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked when she thought it was safe.

"Ma- Mary... left me..." he said in a shaky voice. Lily was taken aback by this revelation. Lily knew for a fact that Mary Had liked Remus for the longest time and couldn't come up with a reason as to why she would leave him.

"What? Do you know why?" she said, her curiosity taking over.

"I can't really tell you, but I told her something about me... and she ran away..."

"Remus what about you? You're such an amazing person," Lily said in all seriousness.

"Lily... you don't understand. It's best if you stayed away from me too."

"What? Don't be silly! You're my friend and-"

"Lily, you don't understand!" he said raising his voice. "I'm dangerous. I'm a monster. You should leave. Please."

Remus. I'm not leaving you when you clearly need someone. And if this is about your..." she looked for a suitable word," condition... then no, you're not a monster."

"My con- You know?" he looked into her eyes for the first time. His eyes were puffy, his cheeks tear stained he looked tired and exhausted but his expression was a mix of utmost confusion and horror.

"Of course I know!" Lily felt a little offended. "I'm not thick, and you guys didn't really make it hard to notice. Coming back with injuries, looking like crap every morning after a full moon."

Remus stared at her in awe. "And you still spoke to me? You still went on rounds with me? You treated me as your friend?" his mouth hanging open.

"That's because you ARE my friend, Remus. Probably one of my closest ones," this was in fact true. Lily considered Remus to be right up there with Mary, Alice and Marlene, even if they didn't spend as much time together.

"And you're not scared of me?" he asked extremely confused. Lily was beginning to get impatient with all the stupid questions he was asking her.

"Don't be daft. I have no reason to be scared of you. I know you Remus," she said giving his shoulders a light squeeze. "And I know that you would never harm anyone. And most importantly, you didn't choose this Remus. It isn't fair and I can't even imagine what a toll it takes on you.

"I want you to know how much I respect you, and you serve as an inspiration to everyone around you. You show us that no matter how tough it gets, we shouldn't stop. That it's important to carry on," Lily had no idea where all this was coming from but it just felt right and true. she guessed these thoughts had always been somewhere deep inside.

"Thanks Lil," he smiled a little. "But Mary doesn't seem to think so. When I told her, she ran away. She ran away Lily! She didn't let me explain... she just ran..." he wasn't smiling anymore.

"Mary obviously doesn't know what she's just lost then, does she?" Remus didn't look so sure. Lily sighed and continued.

"One day, trust me when I say this, You WILL find an amazing beautiful girl who will love you for what you are. Every bit of you. I mean who could someone not? You're smart, funny, sensititve. And cute if I may say so," she nudged him at the last bit.

"You really think so?"

"Think? I'm sure," she confirmed in her most convincing voice. She could already see him brighten up just the slightest. She would have a word with Mary but for now, she had a heart broken boy to comfort.

"Come on. Let's get you up to the Tower," Lily said standing up, stretching her hand out to the prefect to help him up. Remus took it with the most sincere smile and his eyes said it all. He silently thanked her making Lily feel whole. She kicked of her heels, picked them up in one hand, grabbing Remus' in her other. Together they walked up to the Common Room. Luckily they didn't meet anyone on their way there. They walked in silence, but they didn't need to talk. The fact that Remus had a friend in Lily was enough for him and Lily could feel that.

They climbed through the portrait hole and into the deserted Common Room. Lily dropped his hand when they reached the staircases and gave him a quick hug, which he returned gratefully.

"Thank you," he whispered before moving back to smile at the red head. Lily returned the smile and watched him go up the stairs to his dorm.

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><p>AN: I really wanted to add this to the story and I hope you guys liked it! I also hoped you understood this was a continuation of the previous chapter. But don't worry, it will be James' POV in the next chapter.<p>

Thank you for reading and please leave a review! :D

Ps: Thank you SO much to everyone who has added this story to their favourite/follow list! It means a lot to me that you guys are liking this.


	43. Mistletoe

AN: My explanation for my inexcusable lateness is after the chapter.

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><p>James felt like he was sinking, like he was slowly descending into a state of perpetual discontent which he kept concealed within himself. But he couldn't quite place a finger on what was causing him this dull pain in his chest. All he did was accompany Remus on full moon nights, compose essays for homework and, something he dreaded, take nightly rounds with his co-head. No matter how hard he tried, his gloomy disposition could not be kept a secret from those closest to him.<p>

"Mate," Sirius began, startling Prongs from his daydream. "What's gotten into you lately?"

"What? Nothing. I'm fine," James tried to reassure him. He looked into Padfoot's stormy grey eyes and hoped his friend couldn't see through his false pretenses. Sirius just gave him a 'are you really going to lie to me?' look. James sighed, defeated.

"I honestly don't know," he confessed. "I just feel so low all the time and not knowing the reason means I can't get rid of it." Sirius gave his friend a sad smile which said he was there for him. He cleared his throat and gave James his old devilish grin.

"Who wants to throw dungbombs at first years?"

James awoke to the sound of Sirius singing, it had become a Christmas tradition. He put on his glasses and saw Sirius using a hairbrush as a mic as he twirled around the room wishing everyone A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year. James chuckled at his roommate as he got out of bed, hitting Sirius on the back of his head while passing him to go to the bathroom.

James opened his christmas presents one by one. His parents had sent him a jumper, Lemon Tarts and some other chocolates which they knew he'd like. Remus had gotten him a pair of shoes which would allow you to hover a few inches above the ground when you put them on. Lily had gifted him a new pair of Quidditch gloves which fit him... like a glove. Sirius gave him a bunch of some muggle magazines which had supermodels on their covers and Peter gave him a set of new quills, parchment, ink along with other stationary. james wasn't surprised to see that several other students, mostly female, had sent him sweets and candy; a pile he didn't even glance at.

That night he walked alongside Lily when they were on their rounds. The castle was covered in snow on the outside and holly and mistletoe on the inside. They walked in silence for a while before Lily interrupted his thoughts.

"The scarf was lovely," she smiled, referring to his gift. "Thanks for it."

"Pleasure, m'lady" He said with a small bow. "As were the gloves." They carried on for a it until they heard some noises coming from the corridor ahead. James gave Lily a puzzled look and tiptoed to the intersection. He peered around the corner and saw a couple snogging... quite enthusiastically. Before he could take any action, Lily was striding towards the students who were completely oblivious to their spectators. James scurried to stand next to the red head.

"Ahem," Lily cleared her throat loudly. The couple pulled apart, their faces flushed with equally guilty looks taking hold of their features. They murmured some inaudible excuses as they brushed past James as quickly as they could. As soon as they were out of earshot James and Lily burst out laughing. James threw his head back and laughed, wiping a tear from his eye when he saw it. A small mistletoe was staring back it him. His laughter suddenly died down as he realised what it meant for him to be there with Lily. He felt a wave of despair wash over him and he looked down quickly. Lily seemed to notice the tiny plant too because her cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

James turned around silently and began walking away when a hand grabbed him from behind, spun him around and a pair of lips found his.

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><p>AN: IT FINALLY HAPPENED! Oh my god how I've been DYING to write that part! Hope it was ok :]<p>

As for why I haven't uploaded: I was going through a rough patch... I still am. It just got really bad for a while and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have neglected the story but I honestly didn't feel like writing which is weird since it's what I love doing most. I apologise but I can't make any promises because I might end up breaking them.

**IMPORTANT:** If any one is going through a bad time or is feeling not happy, I'm always here to talk. No one should have to face things alone because I know how hard it is. Even if you don't want to tell me what's wrong and just want to vent, I will listen. You might think I'm a stranger but I care about every single one of you and love you all more than you know.


	44. Fireworks

AN: Hey guys! I was so excited to post the previous and this chapter, you can all guess why. The response to the previous chapter was so good, it mad me want to type this up immediately. I also want to thank everyone who expressed their concern about me, it meant a lot to see you guys actually care. On with the story!

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><p>Lily doubled over, clutching her sides as she howled with laughter. She looked up at James who had his head tilted toward the ceiling, a single tear of mirth escaping his golden eyes. His face suddenly dropped and he widened his eyes at the roof before snapping his head down.<p>

Lily craned her neck a little and saw what had thrown James off so suddenly. The tiny mistletoe hung from the ceiling looking innocent, almost lovable but to Lily it was taunting and she felt her breathing constrict. Her gut twisted when James glanced at her and she froze. She felt something inside her give way, her belly plunging into a bottomless abyss, her blood running cold.

It all happened so fast but everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Her thoughts were racing, flying through her head before she could register them. She felt a split second of joy replaced with horror when she saw James turning away from her. Before she could stop herself, before she could carefully calculate her actions and assess the situation, Lily felt her self spin the boy around and collide her lips with his.

It was amazing.

There was no other way Lily could describe how she was feeling. For a moment James just stood still, too stunned to move with his arms limp by his sides. Lily realised her mistake a little too late and was just about to pull away when he began responding. He started kissing her back. She knew it sounded cheesy but it was electric, like how all those muggle movies were always describing the perfect kiss to be. Lily didn't see fireworks but she could feel them exploding inside her. Lily felt him snake his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She wrapped one arm around his neck the other in his hair, grabbing on to the messy black locks. She was forced to stand on her tiptoes even with James leaning down.

The kiss deepened and she could feel James smiling against her mouth, making her giggle a little. She felt herself being lifted off the ground as James spun her around, still joined at the lips. They pulled apart when he set her down. Foreheads pressed, identical grins gracing their faces.

Lily looked into the hazel eyes and in that single moment saw more emotion than she thought possible for a single human being. It was then when she realised her actions and felt her cheeks become hot. She could rest assured they were as bright as her hair but this only seemed to make the Head Boy smirk. 'God that smile,' Lily thought. She had always hated it. The James Potter Trademark: The lopsided grin making every girl (and some guys) swoon but had never affected Lily. At least not in a way she was aware of at the time. But then, with his arms wrapped around her almost protectively, she felt differently towards that crooked smile.

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><p>AN: SHE DOESN'T HATE HIM ANYMORE! Do you know hoe happy that makes me?! One of my OTP's have finally gotten together, and its unbelievable because my other OTP's don't seem to be coming true any time soon. I know OTP is ONE true pair but I have about four :P And you can't do anything about it! *cackles manically*<br>Sorry about that, I'm just a little giddy. That's all :)

Sorry if this is a little short, but I wanted to end the chapter right there. I hope you understand the writer in me xP

Let me know what you think about the chapter and the story so far in a PM or a review, whichever you prefer. Thanks for reading!


	45. Chapter 45

AN: You can throw rocks at me. My body is ready (not really). I can not articulate in words how very sorry I am. And although it is my duty to upload a chapter, I just couldn't. More of that at the end. On with it!

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><p>James still couldn't fully register what had happened. He had just kissed Lily Evans. Lily Evans had just kissed him. He had just locked lips with the girl he'd liked since he was eleven. Six years is a pretty long time, if you asked him. The only down side was: no one had been around to witness this glorious moment in history.<p>

James was still in a bit of a daze when Lily snapped him out of it, tugging on his sleeve.

"We should head back," she was saying. He glanced at his watch; it was a little past midnight. They slowly made their way back to the Common Room. James was enjoying the almost eerie silence along with the warmth radiating from the body beside his, a hand lightly holding onto his arm. He couldn't help but smile and no matter how hard he tried, his face just wouldn't stay straight. As they neared the portrait hole, James found himself wishing for the walk to never end. They stopped in front of the portrait hole.

"Pine cones," Lily said, giving the password to the Fat Lady.

"Wait," James stopped Lily just as she was about to climb through the hole. She turned around and he held both her hands in his. "Lily Evans. I have known there was something special about you ever since the day I first laid eyes on you but I wasn't quite sure what it was until a little later. I noticed the way your brows furrow up when you're reading. The way your tongue pokes out, just the slightest, when you concentrate. The way your eyes are alive when you're angry; and God knows I've seen I've seen that plenty of times." Lily let out a little laugh.

"The way your eyes crinkle when you smile. Not your fake smile; the real one. The one saved for when you're truly happy or amused. The one that sends my heart fluttering at a thousand miles an one I hope to receive some day." He paused for a few moments before continuing.

"So will you, Lily, grant a poor mans wish? Will you do me the utmost honor of becoming my girlfriend?" James asked nervously. He expected her to say no. That it was a mistake. That he had been played a prank on. But the answer he got was better than one words could form. Lily reached up on tiptoes and gently kissed him. He felt a tingling sensation start from the point of contact and run down his spine.

"Of course," came the whispered reply.

They sat on a couch by the fire in the deserted common room. Seems like everyone had been so tired after Christmas, they'd all gone to bed early. James was exhausted but he wasn't ready to sleep just yet. In spite of everything a tiny portion of James still felt like he'd wake up tomorrow and everything will turn out to be a dream. Somewhere while watching the fire crackle, James had slipped into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

James started awake when his instinct kicked in, telling him he was being watched. A very baffled Marlene was standing in front of the couch staring back at James. James suddenly became aware of a weight on his chest and looked down to see a head of red hair resting there. He looked back at Marlene who looked like she was expecting an explanation.

"Are you gonna start talking, pretty boy?" she demanded, clearly very impatient, even for Marlene. "Or do I need to bring everyone down here?"

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><p>AN: This was a little bit of a filler and I also just wanted to establish their relationship. Please let me know what you think through reviews or a PM. And if you didn't like it you can say something along the lines of," ur story sux poo." Just as an example.<p>

And as for why I haven't uploaded: I don't want the story to end. That's it. That's the reason. Well, at least one of the major reasons. I've been writing this for well over a year now, and even though I don't upload every week, I still know, at the back of my mind, that I have this story to complete. That i have a contract between you, the readers, and me, the writer. But I just feel that if this story goes away, I won't have anything left. Yeah I wrote other than fan fiction but that isn't the stuff I'd ever show anyone or even the stuff that anyone would want to read. This story is an extension of me and I honestly don't know if I can let it go. But it's got to end sometime, right?

In other news, **WHO'S EXCITED ABOUT FANTASTIC BEASTS?! **I heard the news and I freaked out. The fandom is awakening and it is AWESOME. That's actually the reason I decided to write today, at 1:27 am, because I'm just that cool -_- I got inspired by our Queen to write again, and I'm glad I did :)

Once again, if anyone wants to talk, please feel free to drop me a PM. I don't want ANYONE to got through what I went through/am going through/ am trying to recover from. So please know I'm there.

And are any of you on Tumblr? Follow me at .com :) and leave a review with your url and I'll follow you guys :D


	46. Gains and Losses

AN: Hey guys! HAPPY HALLOWEEN and a HAPPY DIWALI to any Hindus reading. See you at the bottom.

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><p>Lily was taking a little time to get used to the strange looks the students, and even some teachers, we're giving her when she walked down the corridors with James. People would shamelessly stare and she found herself wanting to hex the lot.<p>

Had someone told her eleven year old self, heck had she even been told at the age of sixteen that she'd date James Potter, she'd probably book a room at St. Mungo's mental illness ward for them. Even though she was with James, that didn't mean that he didn't absolutely infuriate her. He was annoying to no extent and knew just how to get on her nerves. He was always doing things that made her mad.

"You look so adorable when you're flustered, " he would say. A solid bat bogey hex ought to shut him up.

Lily still remembers her friends faces when she told them what happened that Christmas night, excluding any details of the kiss. That was something she'd rather keep to herself; for the time being, at least.

Their nightly rounds were a lot more enjoyable these days, something she looked forward to, seeing as they hardly got any time to themselves with all the N.E.W.T. preparation and interrupting friends. Sirius was most curious of all.

"Is James a good kisser?" he asked once, completely out of the blue while they were sat I the common room surrounded by transfiguration homework.

"Sirius!" James exclaimed, turning slightly pink while Remus howled with laughter.

"No, seriously! Is he as great as Christina Jenkins says?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Lily interjected jokingly but to no surprise, Sirius had already grabbed hold of James' robes and was fake kissing him all over his face.

James finally managed to pry Sirius off him, with great difficulty, but all eyes were already on their group. Some of the seniors were even shielding the first years eyes with their hands and Lily laughed at James, who had gone an even brighter shade of pink.

It was mid January, Lily had hardly climbed into the portrait hole when Alice rushed to her. Her face was pale and she looked quite shaken.

"It's his father," Alice said, her voice trembling. Lily was confused for a second and then it dawned on her. She ran up the story the boys dormitory and a gut wrenching sight greeted her.

James was sitting on the floor, staring into space, with Sirius gripping his hand, Remus rubbing circles on his back and Peter looking terrified as he set next to Sirius. James held a crumpled up piece of parchment in his free hand and didn't even acknowledge Lily's presence.

Lily feared the worst.

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><p>AN: I'm so sorry. It had to be done. To anyone not following, it will be clear in the next chapter. Also, I'm typing this on my phone so I apologise for any spellinggrammatical errors and the length of this chapter, if you found it a little short. I honestly can't tell how much I've typed.

How's everybody doing? Someone favourited and followed this story today and I got a mail so I thought I'd post something. I didn't even think anyone Was reading this anymore but I'm glad you guys are or I'd have no one to show any of my work to.

Thanks for reading, and please review! Pumpkins, candy and firecrackers to all!


	47. Broken Promises

AN: Hi guys! Guess who finally got a fully functional laptop? :D It's been long overdue. It's getting slightly chilly where I live (damn you topical country!) What's the weather like where you live? Please let me know, so I can dream of a white Christmas. Yes, I know I'm late (tell us something new you freak) What! Who said that? See you at the bottom.

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><p>Everything was so surreal. One day he was trying to forget Lily Evans and the next she was kissing him. He could not believe his luck. They had become the talk of the school, not that James was new to that kind of thing, but this time he didn't really care.<p>

"Oh man, _nothing_ can rain on my parade!" he said excitedly to Remus while they were walking back from lunch. But perhaps he spoke to soon. They entered the common room and went up to their dormitories. The first thing James saw was an envelope lying on his bed. He recognised the seal to be his family's immediately. He ripped it open eagerly. Although he'd never admit it, James did miss his parents while he was at Hogwarts. His eyes scanned the parchment, the colour draining from his face with every line. He flopped down on his bed, the paper falling to the floor as he stared ahead, his eyes unseeing.

"James?" Remus asked. "James? Are you ok?" but he got no response. "What does it say?" Still no response. He waved his hand in front of the paralyzed boys face but James didn't even blink. Remus picked up the parchment with slight uncertainty.

_James,  
>I'm so sorry dear but your father is no more. He was on a mission for the Ministry and things didn't go as planned. There was a spy in his squad who ratted him out to the Deatheaters. Your mother wanted nothing more than to come to Hogwarts and pick you up but she isin no condition to travel or even apparate. I wish I could come but someone needs to take care of her.<br>By the time you get this, Headmaster Dumbledore already knows and you are to leave first thing tomorrow morning.  
>I'm so very sorry, James. Be safe. Be strong. And know that he loved you.<br>Yours Constantine._

Remus felt his heart stop. He could not process what he had just read. Mr Potter, the ever so lively Mr Potter, Head of the Auror Department, could not possibly be dead. He refused to believe stood there, helpless. He didn't know what to say. What _do _you say to someone who's just lost a parent? Tell them It's ok? That everything will be alright? Well, Probably. But those are just lies. Sweet nothings. And Remus knew that.

No words of comfort came to him. And somewhere while he was trying to find somehting to say, Sirius was on the floor, holding James's hand a single tear on his cheek, asking him to go find Lily. He found Alice lounging in an armchair, completely unaware of what was happening above her.

"I need Lily. Now."

"What?" she asked, clearly feeling a bit disoriented. But the expression on Remus' face told her something wasn't right. "What's happened, Remus? she asked cautiously. He told her everything he could with his quivering voice, and returned to the dormitory an unsettling sensation taking over his stomach.

James was vaguely aware of someone holding his hand and giving orders to someone else in the room. He thought he heard Lily's voice beside him but he was too dazed to be sure. He couldn't feel anything. Like all the feeling had been sucked out of him. Like a dementor had kissed him but instead of taking all his happy memories, it had taken every emotion he had ever experienced. He felt a hand on his face and blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings.

"Dad..." James said, quietly. "My dad... It can't be." He suddenly turned to Remus, the desperation clear in his hazel eyes. "Tell me it's not true Remus," he whispered. "It isn't, is it? It's all just some sick joke. It has to be. It's probably Ruthy Dorris trying to get me back for that time I made him dangle in the Entrance Hall. Yeah, that's probably it." Remus stayed silent. "Why won't you say anything, Moony? I'm right, aren't I?" He turned to Lily, who was sitting in front of him.

"Hey Lil, we should probably get going. We're getting late for our rounds." The only response he got was a painful expression from his girlfriend who looked like she was fighting back tears.

James had never felt so confused, angry and sad at once and at the same time he felt nothing at all. His father could not be dead. It just wasn't possible. He had promised James, when he was younger, that he would always be there. And he was not one to break promises. He was not dead.

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><p>AN: No, he really is dead. It's just that James can't come to terms with that fact. And he isn't crying because he's in shock and he doesn't know how to cope with the loss. I'm sorry if you don't like it and thank you if you do. Please let me know what you think in a PM or a review! And thank you for reading, it's greatly appreciated :)<p> 


	48. Chapter 48

AN: WHAT THE HELL FANFICTION? Guys I literally typed out all of chapter 48, feeling so proud of myself for having it ready so fast. And when I go to upload the document, THE SITE FUCKING CRASHES AND I LOSE EVERYTHING! IT'S 12AM AND I AM NOT HAPPY. You better sort your shit out, fanfiction. You hear me?

I'm going to try and re-create what I originally wrote but I highly doubt it'll be half as good.

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><p>Lily was still finding it difficult to completely understand what had happened. Although she had never met him, she knew enough to know that Mr Potter, Head of the Auror Department, was a well respected and brave man. Despite that, Lily felt ashamed at how angry she felt toward him. How could he leave James and his mother like that? Without any warning? Without a final goodbye? She knew it wasn't his fault which made her feel even guiltier. She guessed he went how he would've liked it; straight and fast, doing what he loved.<p>

Lily was growing more and more worried about James with every passing minute. He hadn't eaten, he had hardly spoken and worst of all, he wasn't grieving; at least not visibly. Lily was no specialist but she did know that James was in shock which could take a massive toll on a persons psyche.

"I'm sorry, Ms Evans" Professor McGonangall sighed. "But I'm afraid I can not allow you to accompany Mr Potter to his home seeing that the... situation is not related to you. In addition, the school couldn't possibly run smoothly if both Heads were absent." The finality in her tone made Lily seethe with anger but she knew her teacher was right.

She returned to the the boys dorm and helped Remus pack James' trunk. Sirius was folding his clothes, sobbing silently. It wasn't until then Lily realised just how closed the two black haired boys really were. Sirius was like a son to Mr and Mrs Potter, and a brother to James. They even lived together. The Potters had shown him immense kindness and taken him in when his family had disowned him.

The next morning found James dragging his trunk behind him as he walked unseeingly down the corridor, a glazed look in his eyes. He couldn't even think straight enough to make it levitate. Remus, Sirius and Lily followed him. Lily noticed him snap back to reality when she knocked on the Headmasters door.

"Come in," answered a soft voice, giving them permission to enter. Lily turned the doorknob and opened the door to the oddly magnificent office. Sirius and James were to travel via the Floo Network, which had been specially set up for them. As if suddenly realising they were going to part ways, James grabbed onto Lily's hand.

"Don't leave me," he whispered, almost inaudibly.

"I can't go with you, James," she said, fighting back tears and his grip on her tightened. "You've got Sirius with you. And James... you are so strong." She pressed her lips to his, not caring that the Headmaster was watching them. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back," she whispered, a single tear rolling down her face. She walked over to Sirius.

"You take care of yourself, ok?" she said, trying to keep her voice steady. She gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. "Both of you," she said turning to James.

Lily watched as they climbed into the fireplace on by one as they disappeared before her eyes in a whirl of green flames.

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><p>AN: I don't know why, but this is seeming slightly shorter than the original. It's probably just me. Goddamit Fanficiton. I think this is ok, though. WHat about you? Let me know what you think (even if it's criticism) in a PM or a review!<p> 


	49. The Man Who Will Never Die

AN: Take that little voice in my head nagging me to upload! No, but seriously; this story is getting so much love. HOW?! Seriously guys, the fact that you took the time out to read this means so much. Thank.

This is from Sirius' POV since I feel James is too damaged to narrate the story as of now. Also, I wanted to stress on how lovely a human being Mr Potter was. Please do let me know what you think in either a PM or a review.

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><p>Sirius had never seen James so broken; it made his heart ache. As soon as the arrived at the Potter household, James fell into his mothers arms. It had been the first time since receiving the news that James had shed a tear. Now, he was sobbing into his mothers robes as she stroked his hair, fighting back tears of her own.<p>

They stayed like that for a while, and though Sirius was also grieving, he felt like an intruder. Mr Potter had been more of a father to him than his own kin. He had shown kindness many wouldn't think possible, something Sirius would never be able to repay.

Sirius' legs had turned to lead and a lump had formed in his throat. He didn't know what he could possibly say or do that would make anyone feel even slightly better. As if sensing his discomfort, Mrs Potter motioned for him to come closer. He walked towards her with wobbly knees, and she pulled him into the hug. Sirius lost track of time and only snapped back to reality when a very dejected house-elf came into to inform them that dinner had been served.

No one was really very hungry. James decided to retire early leaving Sirius and Mrs Potter alone in the dining hall.

"I worry about him," Mrs Potter said softly. "He's never been one to handle emotions well." Sirius knew this rather too well. James always pretended like nothing ever affected him. But being friends with the boy for almost seven years meant that he could read James' mind like a seer could read a palm. "Please keep an eye on him, Sirius. Make sure he doesn't do anything reckless."

"Of course, Mrs Potter," he tried to assure her, hoping he sounded sincere. They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Mrs Potter excused herself, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts.

The funeral was held the morning after next. Sirius and James were ready in their black dress robes as they waited for all the guests to arrive. James was wearing a solemn expression, determined not to cry. Sirius knew he felt that he had already shown weakness on the day they had arrived and didn't want a repetition of it. Sirius also knew he was trying to be strong for his mother who wouldn't be able to stand seeing her son cry.

There was a marble tomb before which there were rows of chairs with an aisle in between. Sirius, James and Mrs Potter were sat in the front on the right with Mr Potters closest friends and colleagues, including the Minister for Magic, sat to the left. James had asked Sirius to write and deliver the eulogy because he thought Sirius would do a better job. But Sirius knew all too well it was because James feared that if he spoke he'd break down in front of everybody. Sirius walked up to the front of the assembly and cleared his throat.

"Thank you for joining us here today," he could already feel his throat drying up. Instead he focused on the piece of paper that had his speech written down. "Mr Potter was the wisest, greatest and the best man I have ever known. He always knew exactly what everybody needed and never failed to make us comfortable. He... " his voice trailed off. The words coming out of his mouth were true, but he felt like he didn't need to say this. Everybody who had ever spoken to Mr Potter knew what he was re-asserting. Sirius crumpled the paper in his fist and looked into the crowd, wishing he'd see Mr Potter sitting at the back laughing because all these people had fallen for his practical joke. But there was no one there. How could there be? Sirius had watched them put the body into the tomb.

"Mr Potter was most definitely a great man. He was also a great cook. And by that I mean it was always raw eggs and burnt toast with him." A few chuckles were heard. "He was also a great father; I should know, mine disowned me. Mr Potter took me in, and gave me a home when I had nowhere else to go. And he never expected anything in return. We used to sit in front of the fire and laugh about James' infatuation with a girl in school. Oh, how proud he would be to know his son is currently dating said girl.

"He was always so full of life, giving us more ways to wreak havoc. Did you know that once he managed to set fire to one of the guest bedrooms? Mrs Potter still hasn't noticed." A soft laughter ran through the crowd.

"James and I used to spend hours when we were younger copying the way Mr Potter spoke, the way he walked, his back straight, chin up with the air of such confidence most would find intimidating. But when he spoke, his words were calming. Like a promise that everything was right in the world and nothing could harm you.

"He looked into each Auror mission personally, the first head to do so. Mr Potter never wanted anyone else to get hurt; always going into battle first. He was selfless and it is so very consoling knowing he went in an honorable way." Sirius was tearing up now.

"What I'm trying to say is, Mr Potter was not only brave and a great leader, he was also kind, empathetic and marvelous, in every sense of that word. I can not thank my stars enough for giving me the chance and the absolute honor to know a man such as him. One so truly diverse you'd be surprised a single person could be so magnificent. He will live on forever in the memory of those he saved.

"To Mr Harold Potter. The man who will never die."


	50. Chapter 50

AN: Hey guys! I'll see you at the bottom.

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><p>James and Sirius arrived back at Hogwarts three days after the funeral. Lily was glad to see James; not only had she missed him, she had also found it very difficult to manage her duties as Head without him. The idea seemed absurd: Lily Evans needed the help of James Potter to keep students in order.<p>

Lily sat curled up in front of the fire, trying to beat the January frost when the pair entered the common room. All eyes turned to them and there was a wave of whispers and murmurs, no doubt gossiping about his father. There had been two whole pages dedicated to Mr Potters funeral in the Daily Prophet. And another throwing light on his lucrative career and achievements. James met her eye, signaling for her to follow him, and carried on walking toward the staircase leading up to the boys dormitory, away from prying eyes.

James was sitting on his bed when she reached the room. Lily walked over to him and carefully sat down beside her boyfriend. He turned to her, giving her a weak smile. He looked pale, and there were shadows under his eyes. He seemed to have lost a little weight and his hair was even messier than usual. It broke Lily's heart to see him this way. She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her waist, leaning into her and burying his head in her red hair. They stayed like that for a while and when James finally pulled away, a single tear had escaped his hazel eyes. He wiped it away hastily, muttering something about acting silly and looked down at his lap.

"Hey," Lily said, gently lifting his head by the chin so that he was looking her in the eye. "You're not being silly." He gave her a small nod and almost teared up again. He shook his head and looked at her again, a grin across his face. But there was something different in his eyes. They looked like those of an old man who had experienced a lifetime, who had suffered a lifetime of pain. But what else could Lily expect? Losing a parent, at such a young age, would take a toll on even the strongest.

James didn't talk much that night. The two just lay on his bed in a comfortable silence. The other Marauders were kind enough to not bother them. They next morning Lily was awoken by the sound, or more like the racket, of God awful singing. She groaned and covered her head with a pillow. Suddenly her fluffy shield was ripped away from her grasp and the noise invaded her ears again. She turned over and blinked a few times, trying to adjust her eyes. She was greeted by the strangest sight. James was brushing his teeth while yelling incoherent words which in his head was probably a song while he twirled a pajamas clad Remus around the room. Lily gaped at the friends for a full minute, convinced she was having some horrific nightmare, while trying to recall what she had eaten last night to cause these potential hallucinations. Remus caught sight of her expression and stopped abruptly before erupting into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. He clutched his stomach doubling over, turning pink in the face. James seemed slightly put off at the interruption of his routine but he caught Lily's eye and gave her a stupid, toothpaste covered grin. He then turned around and waltzed into the bathroom like nothing had even happened, leaving a very confused red head tangled in his sheets.

Lily went to her own dorm to get ready and joined James and Remus in the common room before going down to the Great Hall for breakfast. They spotted Alice, Marlene and Sirius at the Gryffindor table and took their seats beside them.

"You look happy," Marlene smiled at James. "Don't get me wrong, it's really nice to see such a bright face in the morning. Unlike these groggy heads," she said kicking Alice and Sirius under the table.

"Thanks," James grinned, and it seemed genuine. "I just realised I can spend my last few months of school moping around or," he turned to the rest of the group. "I could make it amazing and fun for you guys and for me. I guess," he took a deep breath, "my father wouldn't want me to be upset and cry all the time. He'd be disappointed in me if he saw me like that. And I could never bring myself to spoil things for all of you." There was a chorus of ' You could never' and when it died down, he continued.

" I thought about this long and hard last night. Yes, my father is no longer alive. But he is still with me. In here," he said touching the spot on his chest just above his heart. "And he always will." Lily felt her chest swell with pride at his words. James Potter, ignorant, snarky, toe rag of a bully, was, in that moment, one of the wisest people Lily had ever seen.

She grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, spun him around and pressed her lips to his.

"Get a room!" she heard Sirius yell from somewhere behind her but Lily couldn't care less. She felt James smile, as he pulled her closer.

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><p>AN: <span><em><strong>READ. A LOT OF EXCITING<strong>_**_ NEWS!_**

Hello again! Firstly,I just couldn't stand having a sad James. Can you imagine that? One of the happiest, most fun person you know sitting and crying all day? It's heart shattering! I think this is where James' transition from troublemaking kid to kind, gentle human being starts coming to an end. He's still lively and has a sense of humor, but he's more mature now; he's reached a happy balance of all his good qualities.

Secondly, OHMYGOD CHAOPTER 50. WHAT. I never thought this story would turn out to be so long! I literally remember planning it out and thinking it'd be over somewhere around the Chapter 38 mark. This is a personal milestone for me, especially since I highly doubt this will reach 100 :P Wow. I can't believe people read all of it. Like, hi wow you read the words I spew out of my head, you're so nice thank.

Also, it's the stories TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY next month. This has become a part of me. I've been through so much these past couple of years but this has always been there and you guys have always been there. Thank you. I really mean it with everything I have.

I hope this chapter was okay, I'm writing in the story format after almost three weeks. Let me know what you guys thought!

Do any of you have a tumblr account? If so, drop me a PM and I'll follow a bunch of you :) You can check out my other fics if you're interested in YouTubers Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil. I put up a new one last month.

Thanks so much for reading, it is deeply appreciated. Love each and every one of you. And if you ever have to talk or just want a friend and talk about anything other then what's bothering you, I'm here :) You are not alone. Ever. And you are cared for and you mean something. Take care of yourself.

xx

Hunting Horcruxes


	51. My Deer

AN: Hello people of the internet! Hope y'all are doing good. See you at the bottom.

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><p>It was two weeks after James had returned. He was on his nightly rounds with Lily. They were on the ground floor, just around the corner from the Entrance Hall, when Lily stopped in her tracks.<p>

"Let's go to the grounds," she said, turning to James.

"It's cold outside, Lily! I'd freeze my balls off!" James stated, honestly quite horrified with the prospect of braving the snow.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" she responded with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Come on, James! It's beautiful out," she pouted.

"Oh, alright!" he sighed. They walked the rest of the way to the big, oak doors. James pushed them open just a little bit; enough for them to slip through. The snow had settled in a carpet as far as the eye could see. It glimmered slightly in the pale moon light. It was a crescent moon. Just a handful of days before they'd be meting Remus in the Shrieking Shack.

As Professor Dumbledore had decided, Madam Pomfrey would accompany Remus to the Whomping Willow, after which he'd make his journey to the dilapidated house alone. No one outside of the four of them knew about their arrangement. Or that's what they liked to believe. James was positive the Headmaster was very much aware of his students... abilities.

James was thrown out of his reverie when a snowball made contact with the back of his head, sending his glasses askew. He whirled around to see Lily, smiling widely at him, looking like an utterly delighted five year old. He really liked it when Lily was at ease with him. Since the beginning of their seventh year, Lily's cold facade had been slipping away and James had never found her more intriguing. She was fierce. James loved seeing her laugh and smile but nothing was hotter than an angry Lily Evans. God, she was looked like a goddess about to smite you when she was pissed off.

James ran over to her, tackling her to the ground. She laughed under him, snow getting caught in her hair as he leaned down to capture her lips in his. He rolled off of her and lay back on the snow not even caring that his winter robes were getting damp. He felt Lily lace her fingers with his, and they looked into the January night. Peace had just about set in when the red head jumped up.

"I want to climb that tree!" she announced as she started running toward the leafless figure. The tree was skeletal, begging for another chance at life. James stopped a few feet behind his girlfriend, watching her struggle to climb. She kept slipping on the bark which was slick with ice.

"James, be a dear and help me up," came her voice. Before he could stop himself, he felt himself move onto all fours and was prodding Lily's bottom with his nose, trying to avoid poking her with his antlers. He heard her let out a surprised 'Oh!' as she hoisted herself up onto a branch. She stared at him disbelievingly while he morphed back into human form and climbed up after her.

She was still gawking at him when he settled himself down next to her.

"Wha..." she whispered.

"Well, you told me to be a deer," he tried to explain, trying not to laugh at his own joke.

"You can..." she cleared her throat. "You're an animagus?"

"Yeah," James answered, scratching the back of his head. He pushed his glasses up, feeling scrutinised under her gaze.

"WHAT?" Lily shrieked, recovering from her shock quickly. "And you never told me?"

"I thought you knew," he offered, albeit in vain.

"How was I supposed to know something like that? You obviously get rid of the fur very well." At least she was running away.

"You know about Moony so I just assumed you'd know," he explained. "Hey, it's not my fault know-it-all Evans didn't know. You're slipping," he nudged her jokingly.

"I knew you guys helped him out, I just assumed you kept an eye on him from a distance. I didn't realise you actually pranced around with him all over the castle!" she cried, ignoring his comment.

"We do not prance, thank you very much," James said feeling rather indignant.

"And when did you start doing this?"

"Fifth year. That's when we perfected it."

"_We_?Who's _we_?"

"Sirius turns into a dog, I turn into a stag and Peter turns into a rat." He went on to explain why they'd chosen their animals: two large enough to handle a werewolf, and one small enough to slip between the branches of the Willow and press the knot at it's base, immobilising it so that they could pass through.

"That's amazing," she whispered, sounding awed. "No wizard has achieved that at such a young age."

"What can I tell you? I'm gifted," he smirked, ruffling his hair. Lily still looked a little dazed but he'd managed to impress her and impressing Ms Evans was no easy task. It did take James seven years.

"Do it again," Lily demanded and James was all too happy to oblige. He hopped off the tree and concentrated hard. He walked closer to Lily and nuzzled her foot. He changed back and watched her admiring expression with amusement.

"I have to admit: you look cuter that way," she said with a straight face, dodging the arm James was swatting at her. "I finally understand your Marauder names." She paused, looking thoughtfully at him. "You know? I remember seeing a stag in the grounds from my dorm window back in fifth year. But it was only for a second, and I was so far away. That was you..."

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><p>AN: Hey guys! I hope that was alright. I wanted Lily to know about James' super powers so I thought I'd add this in. This also builds their relationship: they love each other but it's not sickeningly sweet. They're still the same people, just better versions of themselves.<p>

Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you though either in a review or via PM.

Take care of yourselves.

xx

Hunting Horcruxes.


	52. Chapter 52

**AN: **Hello! How've you guys been? Hope the weathers being nice to you wherever you live.

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><p>The sun shone its brilliant golden rays on her red hair as Lily sat at the edge of the lake, dipping her feet in the cool water. The N.E.W.T.'s were done with which meant life at Hogwarts was almost over too.<p>

"Hey, Evans!" someone called out.

"What do you want, Potter?" she shot back, turning around with a disgusted look. The Head Boy was strutting toward her, shirt untucked, tie hanging loosely around his neck, and The Smirk playing on his lips. The remaining Marauders were walking a little behind him, cheering him on. Merlin! they were so immature.

"Fancy a swim?" James asked Lily, grinning crookedly at her, his dark as night hair standing up every which way. Lily smiled up sweetly at him and fluttered her lashes.

"Never even in your wildest dreams," she almost purred. With a lazy flick of her wand, the six foot tall boy went flying into the lake. Sirius, Remus, Peter and Marlene roared with laughter at the sight of James sputtering and gasping for air. "But maybe you should ask the Giant Squid."

Alice made her way over to them along with Frank Longbottom. Lily had always liked Frank; he was a sweet boy with kind eyes, whose love for Alice showed clearly. They were the cutest pair around and it was almost certain they were made to last. Lily grinned up at her best friend who was shaking her head mock condescendingly at her.

"Play nice, Lily," she said, helping James over the edge of the lake. James crawled over to Lily, shook his hair dry at her and proceeded to lay himself across her lap, dampening everything he touched. From the corner of her eye, Lily could see a rowdy group of Slytherins walking past them and she got the unshakable feeling that she was being watched. She turned her head ever so slightly and caught the eye of a greasy haired boy with a hooked nose. She felt her heart plummet at the sight of him. He looked just as pasty as he had when they first met; but there was a difference. There was a look of remorse and almost sorrow etched onto his features with a mix of clear envy aimed at the boy reclining on her. Lily strengthened her resolve and looked away; she was past that now.

Lily and James were on one of their last rounds at Hogwarts that night. Lily was leaning out of a window, waiting for James to get back from the washroom.

"I don't know what you see in him," a nasal voice said from behind her. She smirked, recognising it all too well.

"Oh piss off, Snape," she said, turning around.

"What's gotten into you, Lily? Since when are you on his side?" Severus asked, sounding incredulous.

"His side?" Lily scoffed. "I'm not on anybodies side, Snape. I'm my own person but of course you don't see it like that. For you I'm just a pitiable, little mudblood."

"Lils..." he whispered, looking lost.

"Don't call me that. My friends call me that," she practically growled.

"Friends? Like Potter, you mean? That nasty toerag-"

"Well, aren't you one to comment on the company I keep?," Lily cut in. "You with your Deatheater friends. You make me sick," she hissed. She crossed her arms over her chest to stop her from reaching for her wand. Behind Snape she could see James walking toward them, glasses glinting in the candle light.

"What are you doing out of bed Snivelly?" he snarled, making Snape whip around. She could see him falter for a second at the sight of the Head Boy but he composed himself just as fast.

"I'm a prefect," he replied, failing at portraying confidence. James looked at him with disgust.

"Oh, is that so? Unless my memory is failing me, you're not on duty tonight," he said in an innocent voice. "Ten points from Slytherin," he said with a smile.

"You can't do that," Snape almost shouted indignantly.

"Ten more points for misconduct and just generally being such a fart," James was grinning now. If looks could kill, James would no longer have a pulse. Snape gave him one last glare before stalking off back into the darkness. James slowly walked over to a beaming Lily and pecked her softly on the lips.

"What?" he asked, looking a little puzzeled by her unconcealed happiness. Lily laughed and shook her head.

"I'm just very surprised by how well you handled that. I was positive he'd leave here with at least one broken limb."

"Nah, the trouble isn't worth it," he smiled, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers. Lily kissed him once more before dragging him along to finish off their duties so that they could get back to the common room sofa quicker.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Was that okay? The Snape-Lily chapter needed a little more closure which I hope I managed to achieve. Let me know what you thought in a PM or a review! It's deeply appreciated.

Take care of yourselves. Respect yourselves. Be nice to animals.

xx

Hunting Horcruxes


	53. Home is Where The Heart Is

**AN: I can delay this no longer.**

"Fizzing Whizbees," James said clearly to the gargoyle guarding the way to the Headmasters office. The stone statue sprung aside to let the Heads step onto the revolving staircase that lead them up to the old, wooden door.

"Come in," called a soft voice from behind the door, just as James was raising his fist to knock. He swung the door open and stepped into the office. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tainted wizard's hat- The Sorting Hat.

The Headmaster himself was standing with his back to them, looking out of the window. Beyond the glass, James could see the Quidditch hoops and he suddenly felt his heart plummet. The realisation that he would never play on that pitch again hit him like a bludger. He tried to remind himself that it had been a great year for the Gryffindor team but that offered little consolation.

"Good Day, children," Dumbledore greeted in a cheery tone as he turned around. James found this strange for two reasons: firstly, Lily and himself could barely be classified as children; they were both eighteen years old and were awaiting their N.E.W.T resaults so that they could start looking for jobs. Secondly, there was nothing about this day that could be defined as 'good'. But Dumbledore seemed completely oblivious this, making James find his sunny disposition almost off putting.

"What a fine school year it has been," announced the old wizard, almost beaming with pride. "I called you here to congratulate you on the excellent job the two of you have done as Head Boy and Girl. I must say, I had very high expectations from both of you, and you somehow managed to exceed them," he praised. "Now, some of the other teachers expressed their concerns when I informed them of you being my choice of Heads; they thought I was making a mistake. But I have seen a marked change in both of you. For the better, might I add. And lets just say I am due to receive 20 gallons from each of them seeing as they were wrong"

"I was positive there were no two other students who would be more perfect together," he said in a casual tone but James' ears perked up at that. He saw Lily straighten a little beside him. Had Dumbledore always known they'd end up together? Had the old man played cupid with them? 'Match Maker Dumbledore'. James got the most disturbing mental image of the old man in nothing but a diaper, holding a bow and arrow while staying afloat with feathered wings. He shuddered at the picture and received a most amused look from the Headmaster who probably knew exactly what he was thinking. But the more James thought about it, the less absurd it seemed. Merlin alone knew what the legend of a wizard did in his own time. Maybe he got off on pairing students together and seeing their offspring sail towards the castle in those little boats seven years later.

"I wish you all the very best in all your future endeavours. I feel certain you will both go on to do great things," he gave them a knowing smile. "Now off you go, your duties are not over yet, he said dismissing them. "But Mr Potter, Ms Evans, I want you to remember, this isn't goodbye; not really. Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home." James felt himself get goosebumps all over and before he could register what was happening, in a flurry of red, Lily had practically launched herself at the Headmaster and was hugging him, shaking with soft sobs. Dumbledore chuckled at her, and patted her head fondly.

Lily looked up at the Headmaster and from where James was standing, he heard her whisper, "Thank you."

**AN: This is their last day at Hogwarts. The express leaves soon. I hope people still care about this story. (It's totally okay if you don't though. No hard feelings :D) Thank you for reading, and please let me know what you think. **


	54. Chapter 54

**AN: I am going to finish this.**

They stood at the bottom of the staircase and Lily could hear the stone gargoyle move back into place behind them. The reality of what was happening was settling in and she did not like it one bit. How had it already been seven years? How had it only been seven years. So much had happened, so much had changed. Her entire life had been turned upside down but it seemed like nothing had changed at all. Things were just as they were supposed to be.

She felt James take her hand discreetly, even though there was no one around, and let herself be lead away. She soon realised he was taking her up to the Gryffindor tower for the last time. They climbed through the portrait hole and Lily walked to the window. She looked out at the grounds, her eyes stopping at the patch of trees where she had seen a stag- she hadn't known it was James at the time- disappear into the woods during her fifth year. She could here James shuffling behind her, and could practically feel him trying to think of something to lighten the mood.

"I'll never forget this sofa," James laughed, and she instantly started smiling. His laughter was contagious. She turned to look at him, waiting for him to go on. "I was sitting there," he pointed to a seat," When you hexed me in our second year for nicking your favourite quill. You blew my hand up to the size of a melon." Lily chuckled at the memory. "And then, five years later, in that exact spot you blew me-" movement behind James caught Lily's attention, and to her horror, there were two third years standing by the fireplace looking horrified. How long had they been standing there? James saw her expression and whipped around to se what she was gaping at.

Lily felt her cheeks flush and she wanted to crawl into a hole. But she recovered quickly. "What are you doing here?" She demanded, hating herself for being so rude.

"We- He- He left his book- We came to-" stuttered the shorter of the two. Lily folded her hands over her chest.

"Well, hurry up then! you don't want the train leaving without you, do you?" she said curtly, making them scurry up the stairs.

Lily turned to glare at James. "James. Harold. Potter. You have probably scarred those poor children for the rest of their lives!"

"Oh come on, Lils! It wasn't my fault. And they're hardly children. When I was their age I had already-"

"I do not need to know what you and Martha Stent got up to, thank you very much," she interjected with a hint of envy. James smirked. Although he would never admit it, James loved when Lily got jealous. It gave a sort of boost to his esteem; as if the big headed toe rag needed it. He began walking towards her.

"I'll have you know," his voice was low and husky. "That she was... forgettable." Lily felt herself feel a little happy at that. James was standing very close to her now; there was less than an inch between them.

"As opposed to?" Lily asked, mock concernedly, raising an eyebrow. Without warning, James wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips to hers. She raise her hands to clench his hair while she opened her mouth to let him in. He began walking them backwards until Lily felt her thighs hit the desk behind her. In one swift movement, James had hoisted her up onto the desk and was kissing her more passionately. Lily wrapped her legs around his waist and held him closer, tangling her fingers in his already messy, black hair. Lily could tell James was losing all self control and she was on the verge of letting instinct take over herself when a thud shocked the pair back to reality.

James jumped away from her, panting heavily, glasses askew, hair standing up in every direction. They turned to the staircase to see the two third years standing there petrified, with a large book laying open by their feet. Lily hopped off the desk and tried to straighten her sweater which James was in the process of freeing her from.

The shorter junior snapped out of his temporary paralysis and scrambled to pick up the book before practically dragging his friends by the collar, away from the flustered Heads.

**AN: How are you guys doing? It's been a while. I hope you liked this, I've forgotten what it is to write a story so apologies if it's not up to the mark. Please do let me know what you think in a PM or a Review. Thank you for reading! **


	55. The End Of An Era

**AN: They're done. Oh Merlin. They're Done.**

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><p>There was a certain finality in his actions as James walked towards the large oak doors in the Entrance Hall. He felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him as he thought back to the first time he'd walked across the threshold in his first year with Sirius. So many things in his life had changed but Sirius was still there. James felt a smile spread across his face when he saw his best friend just outside the doorway. He ran, leaving Lily's side to tackle Sirius to the ground. He felt eleven years old again.<p>

James wanted to stay back in the castle, forever and ever, if he could. It was so familiar, and despite all the deadly beings that lurked in the shadows, it felt safe. Now they were being flung into the open to go their own way. Well, James knew what he wanted to do- he wanted to be an auror. Now all he had to do was qualify.

They waited at the platform with their trunks and James turned around to look at the castle.

"You can always come back, you know," Moony said from next to him.

"I know," he replied. "It just won't be the same." The Hogwarts Express pulled up to where the stood and James ignored the calls he got to take a seat in the Prefects cabin, he was going to sit with the people who actually mattered. Once on the train, he slid a galleon to the lady with the trolley making sure she came to their compartment first.

Bursting at the seams with candy and aching tummies, Marlene, Alice, Frank, Sirius, Lily Remus, James and Peter- Mary had been weened out of the group after she expressed her disgust with Remus- recounted old tales of times gone by. James snorted at the sight of them; a bunch of seventeen year olds, laying around the compartment, talking about the good ol' days. They sounded seventy.

The train came to a stop at Platform 9 3/4 and James felt himself heave a deep sigh. He knew he was going to see his friends the day after tomorrow. They had decided to have a quidditch match amongst themselves after Marlene insisted she was quicker on a broom than James was. he hopped off the train, helping Alice with her trunk.

He could see his mother among the parents. She looked tired, as thought she hadn't slept properly in weeks. Her hair was greying at her temples and she seemed to have aged ten years in the few months James had been away. Even then she smiled at him brightly, waiting for them to make their way through the bustling families. James walked over to her as quick as he could, his friends in tow. He dropped his trunk, which landed on Peters foot, and hugged his mother tight. He was beyond lucky to have her. He stepped aside to allow Sirius to hug her, while he pulled Lily forward.

"Mum, this is Lily," he said gesturing towards her. His mothers eyes went wide.

"Lily? Lily Evans?" she said disbelievingly. "THE Lily Evans?" Oh James, I thought Sirius was lying when he said you finally got her." Turning to Lily she said,"Lovely to meet you dear. James has told us-," she faltered for a second," told me so much about you." She ignored Lily's outstretched hand and pulled her in for a hug instead. "My, you're even prettier than James described you to be," she smiled, pulling away and James felt his face go hot.

After dinner, James and Sirius sat on Sirius' bed, playing a game of Exploding Snap.

"Mum really liked her," Sirius said distractedly, planning his next move.

"Liked who?" James asked, not really paying attention.

"Gretchen Smidge. Who do you think I'm talking about?" Sirius said a little annoyed. "She liked Lily!" he said through the small puff of smoke being emitted by a card. "She was telling me in the kitchen while you were in the bath. She thinks Lily's good for you." James smiled. His mother was always perceptive. He would almost always get caught when he tried to lie. The only person who could sway her was his father. That man had a way with words; James wasn't even half as charming.

"She may have even said something about very beautiful grandchildren," Sirius said looking at his cards, trying to be nonchalant. James ears perked up at that.

"Woah, hold on. Grandchildren?" he inquired. Sirius Looked up now, evidently wanting to know the answer himself. James hadn't really thought about it. Lils and he hadn't been together that long. And with the thing with his father and the N.E.W.T.'s, he hadn't had much time. He knew he wanted to be with Lily for better or for worse, but would they even get married? Let alone start a family together.

And that night, in James' dreams, children with bright red hair and hazel eyes played in a field as he held hands with the love of his life.

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><p><strong>AN: Aww widdle babies. Thank you for reading this and let me know what you think in a PM or Review! Your tips really help me out and I'm looking to improve my writing so criticism is welcome.<strong>  
><strong>PLEASE message me if you feel like talking to someone or just want to chat. Trust me, I know what it's like to feel like no one will listen. I will listen. There ARE people, even if you don't think so, who will listen. So don't even think twice before messaging me.<strong>

**xx**

**Hunting Horcruxes**


	56. Green

Lily smiled to herself as she finished putting the chicken into the oven. She could hear her husband outisde in the living room, playing with Harry. When she walked out, she found James making silly faces at their toddler.

Even though their child was barely a year old, he looked exactly like his father; with jet black hair Lily had always been unable to tame. But his eyes were different; he had Lily's green eyes.

She walked over to the almost identical pair. They were even wearing matching sweaters which James' mother had knit for them the year before she passed. She leaned down to kiss James and felt the tingling she had the first time their lips met. Pulling away reluctantly, she smiled at her son and tickled his tummy making him giggle.

Lily went back into the kitchen to finish off the preparation for their Halloween dinner- their guests would be arriving soon. From where she stood, she could see James shooting mini fireworks out of his wand, while Harry shrieked with laughter and extended his chubby arms to try and trap the light. He made grabby fists for James' wand making his father chuckle and oblige.

She thought she heard their door opening but before she could be sure, James was on his feet and in the hall.

"He's here, Lily!" she heard him shout. The first thing Lily registered was that James' wand was still with Harry on the couch.

"LILY!" he shouted more forcefully. "Take Harry and go! It's him!" She gathered her bearings in s split second and shot out of the kitchen, scooped up her scared baby and made a dash for the stairs.

"Go! Run! I'll hold him off-" she saw a flash of green from the corner of her eye and she almost stumbled. She went into Harry's room and put him into his cot. Her son was crying now, absolutley terrified. She turned to him and sank to her knees so that they were at eye level.

"Harry," she whispered. "Mama loves you, Dada loves you." She took a shuddering breath. "Be brave, Harry. Be strong." She wiped away his tears and stood to kiss him on the head. Moments later, the room door burst open and a cackle of high-pitched laughter greeted her. She whipped around and planted herself in front of her son protectively.

"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry," Lily tried to plead.

"Stand aside you silly girl," the hooded figure ordered. "Stand aside now."

Lily tried again,"Not Harry! Please no, take me, kill me instead." The figure from her nightmares took a step forward.

And this time Lily did something she had never done before. She begged. "Not Harry! Please… have mercy…" Tears stung her eyes, she was gasping for breath and she felt helpless. The figure laughed again and aimed his wand at her. She stood straight this time. Proudly and defiantly. She looked the man directly in the face, tears still streaming down her own. She saw his wrist flick, a flash of green, and then blackness.

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><p><strong>AN: THE END. <strong>

**This is the end guys. The final chapter. After over two years we've made it. I'm trying not to cry. Thank you, to every single one of you who read this. I am so grateful. And one last time: please let me know what you think. All criticism is welcome. **

**Love you guys. I'm still here if you want to talk to anyone. **

**Have a lovely day, week, year. **

**xx**

**Hunting Horcruxes**


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